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BAPTISMAL  OBLIGATIONS. 


BAPTISMAL  OBLIGATIONS  5 


oi^ 


THE  DUTIES  AND  RESPONSIBILITIES 


GOD-PARENTS  AND  BAPTIZED  PERSONS. 


REV.  WILLIAM  M/ JACKSON. 


If  ye  know  these  things  happy  are  ye,  if  ye  do  them." 

John  xiii,  17. 


HOOKER    &    AGNEW, 

N.  W.  CORNER  OF  FIFTH  AND  CHKSTNUT  STREETS. 

1841. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1841, 

By  hooker  &  AGNEW, 

lathe  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District 

of  Pennsylvania. 


Wiltiara  Stavely  &  Co.,  Primers. 
No.  12  Pear  street. 


CONTENTS- 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

Importance    of  the  Subject,        ...  9 

CHAPTER  II. 
Baptism  the  Seal  of  a  Covenant,       -         -  19 

CHAPTER  III. 
Baptism,  an  Introduction  to  the  Church  : 
A  Means  of  Grace  :  A  Si<?n   of  Profes- 
sion:  a  Mark  of  Distinction:  A  Dedi- 
cation to  God,  -         -         -         -         -  45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Solemnity,  Importance,  and  Value  of 

the  Sacrament,        -         -         -         -         -  59 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Sponsorial  Office,       .         -         .         -  67 

CHAPTER   VI. 
Objections  urged  against  bringing  little 
Children  into  the  Covenant  of  Baptism  : 
The  Parent's  right  to  do  so,         -         -  79 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  VII. 


TAGi!. 


The  Duties  of  Sponsors  :  Means  to  be  Em- 
ployed :   Obligations  of  the  Church,      -  87 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Obligations  of  Sponsors  to  the  Chris- 
tian Church  :  to  jVlmighty  God  :  Their 
Profession,       ....--  99 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Obligations  of  Sponsors  to  their  God- 
children,        -         -         •*         -         -         -  107 

CHAPTER  X. 

Encouragement  of  Sponsors  in  Baptism^  115 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Obligations  of  the  Baptized,     -         -         -  125 

CHAPTER  XIL 
Obligations  of  the  Baptized  growing  out 
OP    the   Privileges,    the  Formula,    and 
the  Vow  of  the   Sacrament,  -         '  143 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

CONCLUSION)  •*  -  -  *  *  -  1(^1 


PREFACE. 

*rhe  Author's  motives  in  presenting  this  little  vol- 
lime  to  the  Christian  public,  must  be  his  apology  for 
thus  obtruding  himself  upon  its  notice.  A  very  little 
experience  in  the  ministry  has  been  sufficient  to  con- 
vince him  of  the  need  of  a  short  and  simple  trea- 
tise setting  forth  the  nature,  design,  and  privileges, 
but  more  especially  the  obligations  of  the  Baptismal 
Sacrament.  In  vain  has  he  inquired  and  sought  for 
such.  Upon  that  other  holy  institution  of  our  blessed 
Lord  a  much  higher  degree  of  regard  has  been  (may 
we  not  say  unwarrantably  ?)  bestowed.  We  hear  it 
styled, /?«r  excellence,  as  it  were,  "The  Sacrament," 
whilst  we  are  abundantly  supplied,  from  the  pulpit, 
the  lecture-room  and  the  press,  with  rich  and  inte- 
resting instruction,  and  most  admirable  practical  ad- 
dresses ;  all  evincing  for  it,  as  is  most  justly  due,  a 
high  degree  of  veneration,  and  all  designed,  as  is 
most  proper,  to  prepare  Christian  people  for  the 
worthy  reception  of  the  sacred  ordinance.     Indeed 

1 


Till  PREFACE. 

the  volumes  which  have  appeared  upon  the  Lord's 
Supper  exceed,  in  number,  those  upon  almost  any 
other  topic  of  religious  instruction.  There  are  Ho- 
bart,  and  Henshaw,  and  Bickersteth,  and  Dr.  Wil- 
son, and  Bishop  Wilson,  and  Adam  Clarke,  with  a 
host  of  others  ;  but  where  shall  we  find  similar  trea-^ 
tises  upon  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  ?  In  an  hum- 
ble desire  to  supply  this  deficiency,  the  following 
pages  are  offered  to  the  public.  The  mooted  points 
of  Baptism  are  not  here  discussed.  This  has  been 
too  frequently  and  too  ably  done,  to  render  it  neces- 
sary in  this  little  volume.  In  bringing  our  young 
children  to  holy  Baptism,  we  cannot  doubt  that 
"  God  favourably  alloweth  this  charitable  work  of 
ours.*'  The  Author's  object  and  desire  is  to  enforce 
the  claims  and  obligations  of  this  interesting  sacra 
ment.  Should  all  his  efforts  avail  no  more  than  sim- 
ply to  draw  out  one  thread  from  the  veil  of  igno- 
rance, which  hangs  over  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
Church,  he  will  feel  that  he  has  not  written  in  vain^ 

Winchester,  Va.,  January  141  h,  1S41. 


CHAPTER  I. 

IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 

Whilst  we  are  neither  warranted,  nor  disposed  to 
institute  a  comparison  between  the  Ordinances  of 
our  Holy  Religion,  we  are,  nevertheless,  free  to  af- 
firm that  none  ought  to  be  placed  upon  more  eleva- 
ted ground,  than  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism. 

Whether  we  regard  the  design  accomplished,  the 
influence  exerted,  or  the  interest  imparted,  there  is 
none  more  merciful,  none  more  beneficial,  none  bet- 
ter calculated  to  win  upon  the  heart. 

It  w^as  the  appointment  of  one,  infinitely  wise, 
and  made  at  a  time,  when  he  appeared  in  the  most 
lovely  exhibition  of  his  character,  as  the  Redeemer 
of  a  guilty  world.  The  deeply  interesting  occasion, 
selected  by  him  for  the  purpose,  cannot  be  forgotten. 
'Twas  after  his  resurrection.  On  one  of  the  moun^ 
tains  of  Galilee — perhaps  the  same  upon  which  he 
was  transfigured — he  met  the  little  band  of  his  dis- 
ciples, by  express  appointment.  There,  having  in- 
structed them,  in  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  and  receiving,  at  the  same  time,  the  hom- 
age and  w^orship  due  to  himself,  as  incarnate  God,  he 


10  BAPTISMAL 

issues  his  last  command,  instituting  water,  as  the 
seal  and  sign  of  the  Christian  covenant ;  its  kindred 
seal  under  the  former  dispensation,  being  hereby  ab- 
rogated, and  yielding. to  one,  better  adapted  to  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  Church.  And  then  having  link- 
ed with  the  command  to  baptize,  another  duty  no 
less  binding  upon  his  ministry — that  of  teaching  his 
disciples  to  do  all  things  whatsoever  he  had  com- 
manded them,  he  bestows  the  parting  promise  of  his 
unfailing  presence,  "  Lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world  ;"  in  perils  by  land  and 
in  perils  by  water ;  in  sorrow  and  in  suffering ;  in 
preaching  and  in  baptizing,  I  am  with  you  alway. 
Thus,  was  the  institution  of  Baptism  preceded  by  a 
declaration  of  his  authority,  "  Jill  powei-  is  given 
unto  wze,"  and  concluded  with  this  precious  promise. 

The  glory  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  promoted  and  pro- 
claimed by  the  Church,  was  the  grand  design  of  this 
sacred  ordinance  :^and  this  end,  it  is  calculated,  in 
a  pre-eminent  degree,  to  accomplish.  It  opens  to 
the  Christian  minister  and  the  Christian  parent,  a 
source  of  most  persuasive  arguments— arguments 
impelling  them  to  the  discharge  of  their  sacred  duties 
to  the  children  of  the  Church  ;  at  the  same  time  that 
it  places  in  their  hands  many  winning  and  coercive 
considerations,  like  so  many  chains  of  silk,  and  silver, 
and  iron,  by  which  to  draw  those  children  to  the 
cross,  and  enlist  them  under  its  banner. 

Matthew  Henry,  the  great  commentator,  attri- 
buted his  first  serious  impressions   to  his  baptism; 


OBLIGATIONS.  U 

says  he,  *'  I  cannot  but  take  occasion  to  express  my 
gratitude  to  God  for  my  infant  baptism,  not  only  as 
it  was  an  early  admission  into  the  visible  body  of 
Christ,  but  as  it  furnished  my  parents  with  a  good 
argument,  and  I  trust,  through  grace,  a  prevailing 
argument  for  an  early  dedication  of  myself  to  God 
in  my  childhood.  If  God  has  wrought  any  good 
work  upon  my  soul,  I  desire,  with  humble  thankful- 
ness, to  acknowledge  the  influence  of  my  infant  bap- 
tism upon  it. 

Says  another  learned  commentator,  "  There  is  no 
argument  more  moving  and  effectually  exciting  unto 
holiness  of  life,  than  that  which  is  taken  from  our 
baptismal  vow  and  profession  ;  the  obligation  of  this 
is  very  strong,  if  duly  considered.  * 

"  What  a  topic  of  expostulation,"  says  Dr.  Scott, 
in  commenting  upon  that  passage,  where  the  chil- 
dren were  brought  to  Christ,  "  would  this  transaction 
give  the  ministers  of  Christ,  if  these  parents  after- 
wards brought  up  their  children  in  an  imchristian 
manner,  or  set  them  a  bad  example  !  or,  with  the 
children,  if  they  renounced  that  Saviour,  who  had 
so  condescendingly  taken  them  in  his  arms  and  bless- 
ed them !  In  what  a  variety  of  ways  might  instruc- 
tions and  admonitions,  both  to  parents  and  the  chil- 
dren, have  been  grounded  upon  it ;  and  what  a  sweet 
subject  of  converse  would  it  afford  to  the  parents, 
in  afterwards  instructing  the  children  !  What  a  ple^. 

*  Burkitt  on  Colossians  iii.  9,  10. 
I* 


12  BAPTISMAL 

in  prayer  for  them  !  And  might  not  infant  baptism 
be  improved  to  similar  purposes,  did  all,  who  ap- 
prove and  contend  for  it,  bestow^  true  pains  to  make 
it  a  means  of  grace  to  themselves  and  those  concern- 
ed?" 

The  language  of  Dr.  Dvvight  to  the  same  effect, 
is  more  decided.  Says  he,  '*  the  most  solemn  sense 
of  the  obligations  which  we  are  under  to  train  up 
our  children  for  God,  is  probably  derived  from  the 
administration  of  this  ordinance."* 

When,  therefore,  we  see,  even  within  the  pale  of 
the  Christian  Church,  the  little  reverence  which  is 
manifested  towards  this  holy  sacrament ;  when  we 
hear  it  so  lightly  spoken  of,  and  learn  how  strangely 
its  intent  and  meaning  are  misconceived,  by  many 
from  whom  we  should  expect  better  things,  what 
limits  must  be  placed  to  our  amazement  and  our  sor- 
row !  If  questioned  concerning  it,  '^  What  mean  ye 
by  this  service  ?"  In  all  probability  an  answer  is  re- 
turned betraying  either  a  deplorable  ignorance,  or  a 
misapprehension  of  its  nature  and  design,  no  less  to 
be  lamented. 

"  The  current  ideas  on  this  subject,"  says  Bishop 
Mcllvaine,  "  are  exceedingly  low  and  meagre.  So 
much  are  many  among  us  affected  by  views  prevail^ 
ing  among  Christians  of  other  names  ;  or  so  little  do 
they  think  of  this  Sacrament,  but  as  a  serious  forma- 
lity,  the  benefit  of  which,  if  there  be  any  beside 

♦  Theol.  vol.  iv.  p.  307. 


OBLIGATIONS.  13 

that  of  becoming  associated  with  the  visible  Church, 
thej  cannot  see  and  therefore  do  not  believe  ;  that 
many  parents,  even  communicants,  are  sinfully  neg- 
ligent in  bringing  their  little  children  to  Christ  in 
baptism.  But  this  is  not  all.  Among  those  who 
do  bring  their  children,  how  much  is  yet  to  be  learn- 
ed and  felt,  of  the  spiritual  character  of  the  sacra- 
ment; and  that  faith  and  prayer  and  earnestness  of 
soul  are  as  much  to  be  exercised  in  connection  with 
the  outward  sign  of  baptism,  as  when  we  are  receiv- 
ing the  signs  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ." 

Indeed,  by  very  many,  baptism  is  regarded  more 
as  an  unmeaning  ceremony,  than  as  an  institution  of 
Christ,  complied  with,  rather  because  it  is  a  custom 
of  society,  than  a  holy  duty :  **  Others  bring  their 
children  to  baptism,  we  must  do  so  too."  Or  else,  it 
is  viewed  as  a  mere  form  by  which  the  child  receives 
its  name,  whilst  the  notions  of  others  again  are  char- 
acterized by  still  grosser  ignorance.  A  minister  once 
related,  in  our  hearing,  a  story  of  a  mother  who  had 
travelled  many  miles,  in  order  to  have  her  child  bap- 
tized, and  assigned  as  her  reason  for  domg  so,  that 
she  had  heard  that  christening  was  an  efficacious 
cure  for  the  peevishness  and  fretfulness  of  childhood. 
But  even  others,  who  are  exempt  from  the  charge 
of  such  gross  ignorance  respecting  the  Baptismal 
Sacrament,  do  not  appear  to  realize  its  vast  import- 
ance, to  value  its  precious  privileges,  nor  to  feel  its 
weighty  obligations. 

Says  a  judicious  writer,  already  quoted,  **  There 


14  BAPTISMAL 

is  but  too  much  reason  to  believe,  that  not  only  the 
persons,  particularly  the  children,  who  have  been 
baptized,  but  the  parents,  also,  are,  in  many  in- 
stances, lamentably  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  this 
institution,  the  truths  which  it  declares,  the  duties 
which  it  involves,  and  the  privileges  which  it  confers. 
Were  these  things  made  more  frequently  subjects  of 
preaching  ;  were  they  clearly  illustrated  and  solemn- 
ly enforced  ;  there  is  the  best  reason  to  believe,  that 
it  would  become  a  far  richer  and  more  extensive 
blessing  to  mankind." 

The  insensibility  which  prevails  among  parents 
and  sponsors  to  their  baptismal  obligations,  is  com- 
municated like  a  contagious  disease,  to  the  young 
disciples  of  the  Church,  infecting  them  with  the  same 
melancholy  insensibility  to  their  obligations  also. 

Among  all  the  causes  to  which  this  is  to  be  attri- 
buted, the  neglect  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  holds  a 
prominent  place.  How  this  neglect  is  justified,  alas  ! 
we  pretend  not  to  say.  It  is  strange  and  unaccounta- 
ble. How  these  obligations  can,  in  truth  and  rea- 
son, be  shown  to  merit  less  reverential  regard ;  be 
placed  upon  lower  ground  ;  be  less  frequently  ex- 
plained and  enforced  from  the  pulpit ;  or  made  to 
appear  less  binding  upon  the  conscience  than  others, 
is  a  point  upon  which  we  must  confess  no  less  igno- 
rance. The  conviction  that  these  obligations  are  as 
sacred,  if  not  more  so,  than  very  many  others,  to  which 
we  attach  the  most  serious  importance,  increases 
our  perplexity,  in  endeavouring  to  account  for  and 


OBLIGATIONS.  15 

justify  this  neglect.  We  say  nothing  of  the  beauty 
which  surrounds,  nor  of  the  interest  which  invests 
this  holy  sacrament — nothing  of  the  love  which  ori- 
ginated, nor  of  the  command  which  enjoins  it.  It  is 
enough  that  Baptism  does  most  solemnly  bind,  by 
peculiar  motives,  both  parents  and  sponsors,  and  the 
children  of  the  Church,  to  a  faithful  discharge  of 
their  respective  duties.  This,  of  itself,  is  enough  to 
increase  our  perplexity,  and  deepen  every  feeling  of 
regret,  that  these  motives  should  be  so  seldom  urged 
and  their  power  so  feebly  exerted. 

Baptism,  Uke  other  positive  institutions,  has  suffer- 
ed not  a  little,  from  the  proneness  of  human  nature 
to  run  to  extremes.  By  some,  it  is  borne  away  to 
such  an  elevated  position,  that  it  is  actually  regard- 
ed as  the  only  pre-requisite  to  admission  into  heaven. 
By  others,  it  is  degraded  to  a  point  of  the  merest  in- 
significance. The  former  error  pleases  well  the  hu- 
man heart,  ever  ready  to  rest  satisfied  with  the  form 
of  religion  v/ithout  its  power  :  the  latter  originates 
in  a  disposition  lightly  to  esteem  that,  the  reason  and 
use  of  which  are  not  evident  at  first  sight.  Forget- 
ting that  all  the  commands  of  God  are  of  equal  force, 
those  only  are  deemed  obligatory,  the  reason  and 
use  of  which  are  apparent. 

Whether  the  neglect  of  Baptism  be,  in  every  case, 
sin  against  God  ;  and  if  it  be,  to  what  extent,  we  do 
not  feel  called  upon  to  decide :  but  we  may  observe 
concerning  all  positive  laws  and  institutions,  that 
whilst  the  will  of  the  institutor  is  the  sole  source, 


16  BAPTISMAL 

whence  the  obligation  to  comply  with  them,  is  deriv- 
ed, yet,  if  he  possess  the  right  to  issue  any  positive 
command,  that  is,  any  command,  the  reason  and  use 
of  which  we  do  not  see,  obedience  on  our  part  be- 
comes a  sacred  duty,  as  much  so,  as  that  of  abstain- 
ing from  the  crime  of  murder,  the  reason  and  use  of 
which,  we  do  see.  Then,  as  we  have  the  assurance 
given  immediately  before  the  appointment  of  Bap- 
tism, that  Christ  had  all  power  committed  unto  him, 
compliance  with  the  appointment  becomes  sacredly 
incumbent  upon  us. 

Inseparably  connected  with  this,  is  the  duty  of 
understanding  it,  to  the  full  extent  of  our  opportu- 
nities. The  Almighty  does  not  issue  his  commands 
from  the  impulse  of  arbitrary  will,  nor  does  he  ex- 
pect obedience  as  to  the  mandate  of  a  tyrant.  He 
would,  doubtless,  have  us  examine  into  the  nature 
and  intent  of  his  requirements,  that  thus  we  may 
know  the  wisdom,  love  and  equity  of  his  counsels. 
In  an  institution  like  that  of  Baptism,  this  is  all-im- 
portant. The  duties  growing  out  of  it  call  for  daily 
and  hourly  fulfilment.  It  is  ''  a  covenant  never  to 
beforgotten,^^  but  to  be  remembered  at  all  times 
and  under  all  circumstances;  it  therefore  behooves  us 
clearly  to  comprehend  its  nature,  design,  privileges 
and  obligations.  Ignorance  is  sinful  if  the  means  of 
knowledge  be  within  our  reach.  Whither,  then,  must 
we  turn?  To  God's  holy  word.  That  it  is  not  more 
full  and  explicit  upon  this  sacrament,  and  its  conse- 
quent duties,  does  not  at  all  detract  from  their  im- 


OBLIGATIONS.  17 

portance,  their  sacredness,  nor  from  their  obligations. 
The  Almighty  reveals  no  more  than  is  necessary. 
We  must  study  his  will,  and  search  it  out  from  what 
he  has  revealed.  He  has  endued  us  with  intellect- 
ual faculties,  and  the  volume  of  inspiration  was  not 
designed  to  indulge  us  in  sloth  and  indolence.  "  He 
that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear  f  and  he  that 
hath  a  mind  to  understand,  let  him  understand  ! 


CHAPTER  II. 

BAl>TISMj    THE    SEAL    OF    A    COVB?fANT. 

Many  and  powerful  are  the  considerations, 
which  make  it  obligatory  upon  parents,  to  educate 
their  children  "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord ;"  many  and  powerful  the  consideration?, 
which  should  constrain  the  baptized  to  repent  of 
their  sins  and  believe  in  Christ  ;  but  to  the  obliga- 
tions, deduced  from  the  Baptismal  Sacrament,  we 
confine  our  attention. 

Before,  however,  they  can  be  made  to  appear,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  nature,  design  and 
privileges  of  Baptism. 

In  the  Jewish  Church,  which  was  something  more 
than  the  shadow  of  the  Christian,  we  find  an  ordi- 
nance, to  which  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  bears  a 
strong  resemblance.  So  many,  and  so  striking  are 
the  points  of  analogy,  that  it  appears  almost  impose 
siblefor  the  unbiassed  judgment  to  suppose,  for  a  sin- 
gle moment,  that  no  real  affinity  exists  between  them. 
I  refer  to  the  covenant  of  which  Circumcision  was 
the  seal.  It  was  established  in  the  time  of  Abraham, 
and  is  continued  to  the  present  day,  in  the  Christian 

2 


20  BAPTISMAL 

Church.  The  seal  is  abolished  and  another  substi- 
tuted, but  the  Covenant^  in  other  respects,  remains 
unaltered  ;  the  temporal  blessing  becoming  the  sha- 
dow of  the  spiritual,  and  the  earthly  Canaan  the  type 
of  the  heavenly. 

The  Jewish  Church,  it  has  been  observed,  was 
something  more  than  the  mere  shadow  of  the  Chris- 
tian, for  it  had  much  of  its  reality.  One  Lord,  one 
Redeemer,  one  Faith  was  received  in  both.  The 
ancient  Jews  had  their  ministry,  embracing  the  three 
orders  of  High  Priest,  Priest  and  Levite;  we  have  ours, 
embracing  the  three  orders  of  Bishop,  Priest,  and 
Deacon.  They  had  their  feast  of  the  Passover;  we 
have  the  Lord's  Supper :  and  as  they  had  Circum- 
cision, and  as  that  Circumcision  was  abolished  under 
the  new  dispensation,  it  may  reasonably  be  inferred 
that,  Baptism  supplies  its  place  to  us. 

The  object  for  which  the  former  was  established, 
and  was  continued  for  nearly  two  thousand  years, 
the  latter  was  designed  to  perpetuate. 

Baptism  is  the  seal  of  a  .Spiritual  covenant ;  so  was 
Circumcision.  This  is  evident,  if  we  consider  why  the 
latter  was  given  to  Abraham,  as  "  a  seal  of  the 
righteousness  of  faith, "that  he  might  be  "  the  father 
of  all  them  that  believe."  If  this  seal  were  given 
to  i\\e  father  of  them  that  believe,  it  is  a  reasonable 
supposition,  that  it  belongs,  by  the  same  grant,  to 
believers  also.  As  a  seal  implies  a  covenant,  the 
covenant  must,  likewise  belong  to  all  who  be- 
lieve, <<  though  they  be  not  circumcised.^^ 


OBLIGATIONS.  21 

The  ancient  Jews,  themselves,  regarded  and  re- 
ceived Circumcision,  as  the  seal  of  a  spiritual  cove- 
nant, as  may  be  inferred  from  the  10th  chapter  of 
Deut.  16th  verse,  and  more  clearly  still,  from  the  6th 
verse  of  the  30th  chapter,  "  And  the  Lord  thy  God 
w\\\  circumcise  thine  heart  and  the  heart  of  thy 
seed,  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  that  thou  mayst  live."  Why 
then  it  should  be  confined  to  the  time  and  the  people 
of  the  old  dispensation,  we  are  unable  to  conceive. 
Why  any,  under  the  Gospel,  should  be  denied  the 
blessings,  or  released  from  the  obligations  of  a  spiri- 
tual covenant,  as  such,  we  are  utterly  at  a  loss  to 
imagine. 

We  have,  moreover,  good  reason  for  believing 
Baptism  and  Circumcision,  to  be  seals  of  the  same 
compact,  in  that  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  sig- 
nified by  each,  was  the  same.  The  former  was  a  sign 
of  the  baptism  of  the  heart,  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the 
latter,  "  a  sign  of  the  circumcision  of  the  heart  and 
spirit. 

Another  argument,  directly  to  the  point,  is  con- 
tained in  the  third  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ga- 
latians.  Here,  in  the  16th  verse,  it  is  said  that,  "  to 
Mraham  and  his  seed  were  the  promises  made?^ 
What  promises?  We  are  not  left  in  doubt.  They 
were  the  promises  of  a  covenant,  made  four  hundred 
and  thirty  years  before  the  giving  of  the  law,  (verse 
17,)  which  was  the  covenant  of  Circumcision.  But 
who  is  here  meant  by  ^^  his  seedV     The  apostle 


32  BAPTISMAL 

supplies  the  answer,  "  to  thy  seed,  which  is  Christ.^" 
But  on  whose  behalf,  were  the  pronnises  made  to 
Christ,  surely  he  7ieeded  nothing  of  the  kind  ?  Evi- 
dentl}',  then,  on  behalf  of  his  Church ;  for  thus  runs, 
the  precious  declaration,  with  which  the  apostle  con- 
cludes his  argument,  "  And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then- 
are  YE  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to 
T^E  promise."  Thus,  we  see,  that  the  promises 
made  to  Abraham,  are  given  to  the  Church,  in  all 
succeeding  ages.  They  were  made  to  him  in  a  cove- 
nant, sealed  by  Circumcision ;  to  us,  in  the  same 
covenant,  sealed  by  Baptism. 

And  now  let  us  turn  to  the  12th  and  13th  verses 
of  the  second  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians.  The  apostle,  here,  tells  the  converts  of 
the  Christian  faith  at  Ephesus,  that  they  w^ere 
once  "  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel 
and  strangers  from  the  covenants  of  promise ;" 
that  is,  they  had  no  right  to  membership  in  the 
Church  ;  no  participation  in  the  privileges  and 
promises  of  the  covenant,  made  with  the  fathers. 
What  other  covenant,  beside  this,  is  here  referred  to, 
we  need  not  stop  to  enquire  ;  but,  from  the  context, 
we  learn  that,  whatever  might  have  been  their  con- 
dition previously,  they  were  not  now,  aliens  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  nor  strangers  from  the 
covenants  of  promise,  but  had  part  in  both :  evi- 
dently teaching  us,  that  the  old  Church  continued 
to  exist,  though  under  a  somewhat  difTerent  form  ; 
and,  that  the  old  covenant  was  perpetuated,  though, 
with  a  different,  seaj. 


OBLIGATIONS.  23 

This  was  the  wise  and  benevolent  intention  of  the 
Almighty,  when  he  established  it.  Had  the  cove- 
nant of  Circumcision  been  simply  designed  to  secure 
to  the  Jews  the  possession  of  Canaan,  why  did  it 
not  cease  to  exist,  when  that  possession  was  obtained  ? 
Why  did  it  continue  to  be  so  religiously  observed, 
through  so  many  subsequent  ages  and  generations  ? 
Is  it  asked,  why  Circumcision  was  not  continued 
under  the  new  dispensation  ; — why  the  original  seal 
was  not  perpetuated  with  the  original  covenant  ? 
To  this  we  reply,  that  it  was  not  only  fit  and  proper, 
but  necessary,  that  the  Gospel,  tender  in  its  dealings 
and  merciful  in  its  requisitions,  should  have  a  seal 
better  adapted  to  its  own  spirit,  than  the  severe  and 
bloody  rite  of  Circumcision.  Retaining  the  latter, 
would,  moreover,  have  operated  powerfully  against 
the  success  of  the  Gospel.  The  Jews  had  always 
regarded  it  as  belonging  exclusively  to  themselves, 
and  were  consequently  led  to  look  upon  the  uncir- 
cumcised  Gentile  nations,  as  vile  outcasts  from  the 
favour  of  God,  and  excluded  forever  from  all  hope 
of  obtaining  it.  With  tenacious  bigotry,  did  they, 
therefore,  adhere  to  Circumcision,  whilst  the  Gen^ 
tiles,  on  the  other  hand,  with  a  bigotry,  no  less  blind 
and  violent,  contemned  and  rejected  it.  It  had  thus 
become  ''  a  partition  wally^  which  Christ  *'  abol- 
ishedy^  that  he  might  make  "  botli^  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile ^^one;^'  that  he  might  ^reconcile  both  unto 
God  in  one  body ;"  that  he  might  remove  every 
obstacle  to  the  success  of  his  gospel  in  the  world,  and 
2* 


24  B  APTiSMAi: 

that  thus,  also,  "  the  blessing  of  Jlhraham  might 
come  on  the  Gentiles  through  Jesus  Christ.  " 

One  word,  touching  the  Jewish  females.  As  they 
were  excluded  from  the  seal,  it  is  supposed  that  they 
were  also  excluded  from  the  benefits  and  obligations 
of  the  compact.  This  was  not  the  case;  for  by  vir- 
tue of  their  birth  and  parentage,  they  were  regarded 
as  the  covenant  people  of  God.*  Tiiis  explains  the 
extreme  observance,  which  was  had,  to  the  marriage 
connection  being  contracted  within  the  limits  of  their 
own  nation,  and  accounts  for  the  repeated  and  posi- 
tive commands,  not  to  intermarry  with  their  heathen 
neighbours. 

So  long  as  the  limits  of  the  church  were  defined  by 
the  boundaries  of  the  tribes  and  families  of  Israel,  no 
seal,  nor  ^'  mark  of  distinction  was  necessary  for  fe- 
males ;  but,  when  the  time  arrived  for  the  cords  of 
the  church  to  be  lengthened,  and  for  the  Gentiles  to 
be  taken  in,  then  it  became  necessary  that  females, 
no  less  than  men,  should  be  sealed,  signed  and  dis- 
tinguished, as  partakers  of  the  covenant,  and  as 
members  of  the  church. 

We  have  dwelt  the  longer  upon  this  identity  of 
the  two  covenants,  as  we  shall  have  frequent  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  that  made  with  faithful  Abraham, 

*  When  Abram  was  taken  into  covenant  with  God,  his  name 
was  changed  to  Abraham  ;  hence  it  may  be  inferred,  that  when 
Sarai's  name  was  changed  to  Sarah,  she  was  likewise  taken  into 
covenant.  See  Deut.  xxix.  10 — 12,  where  femaleg  were  received 
into  covenant  together  with  men. 


OBLIGATIONS.  25 

for  a  clearer  elucidation  of  the  Baptismal  Sacra- 
ment. Frequent  reference  will  also  be  made  to  the 
Articles  and  Formularies  of  our  Church,  believing 
them,  as  we  do,  to  be  well  supported  by  the  Volume 
of  Inspiration. 

The  first  and  chief  design  of  Baptism  was  to  seal 
the  covenant  between  God  and  his  people.  Other 
objects,  of  great  importance,  are,  at  the  same  time, 
attained  ;  but  they  are  not  objects  of  primary  intent, 
being  simply  the  emanations,  (if  I  may  so  speak,)  of 
Baptism,  as  the  seal  of  a  covenant  engagement. 
See  No.  III. 

Regarding  it  in  this  light,  no  obscurity  envelopes 
it ;  on  the  contrary,  we  clearly  perceive  the  wisdom 
of  its  design,  and  the  interest  with  which  it  is  sur- 
rounded. So  far  from  being  an  unmeaning  cere- 
mony, we  here  see  it  to  be  fraught  with  m.ost  affect- 
ing and  pointed  meaning.  The  Almighty  Jehovah 
here  stoops  to  enter  into  a  solemn  engagement  with 
one  of  his  own  creatures,  a  rebel  and  an  outcast. 
"  Willing  more  abundantly  to  show  unto  the  heirs  of 
promise  the  immutability  of  his  counsel,"  He  here 
confirms  it  by  an  oath,  '*  that  by  two  immutable 
things,  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we 
might  have  strong  consolation,"  and  the  most  posi- 
tive assurance  of  His  favour.  Our  faith,  at  best,  is 
a  fragile  thing,  and  God,  in  compassion  to  its  weak- 
ness, does  every  thing  to  support  and  encourage  it. 
The  heart  glows  with  feelings  of  holy  gratitude  for 
such  unmerited  mercy,  and  we  stand  amazed  at  such 


26  BAPTISMAL 

wonderful  condescension  on  the  part  of  our  offended 
God.  O,  to  think  that  He  should  deign  to  enter  into 
a  covenant,  with  a  poor  creature  of  the  dust,  pol- 
luted and  guilty  in  his  sight,  destitute  of  every  sha- 
dow of  a  claim  upon  his  love,  his  mercy  and  even  his 
forbearance,  and  condemned  to  the  blackness  of 
darkness  forever!  Well  may  this  poor  creature 
ask,  "  What  am  I,  or  what  is  my  Father's  house, 
that  I  should  enter  into  a  covenant  with  the  Most 
High  God?"  Flumble  sinner  !  it  is  God,  himself,  who 
makes  the  gracious  offer.  God,  himself,  the  merciful, 
the  condescending  Father  of  all,  proposes  that  you 
should  enter  into  this  agreement.  To  such  an  act  of 
love,  He  is  impelled  by  sovereign  grace  alone.  For 
the  sake  of  His  own  beloved  Son,  moved  by  his  kind 
and  powerful  intercession  in  our  behalf,  and  in  con- 
sideration of  the  costly  sacrifice,  made  on  Mount 
Calvary,  the  offended  Jehovah  extends  his  favour, 
and  consents,  upon  certain  conditions,  to  avert  the 
threatened  punishment,  and  affiliate  the  offending 
and  ruined  sinner.  Well,  then,  might  the  blessed 
Redeemer  have  said,  as  he  stood  on  one  of  the  moun- 
tains of  Galilee,  surrounded  by  the  little  company  of 
his  faithful  followers,  "  I  have  purchased  this  great 
privilege  for  a  guilty  world.  My  Father  and  I,  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  will  pledge  ourselves  to  all,  who 
will  pledge  themselves  to  us.  Rich  are  the  blessings 
which  this  compact  will  secure.  My  own  tears,  and 
wounds,  and  blood  have  purchased  them.  *'  Go  ye, 
therefore,"  into  all  the  world,  "  teach  all  nations, 


OBLIGATIONS.  27 

baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Now,  in  every  covenant,  there  are  four  things  to 
be  considered,  all  of  which  are  necessary  to  its  com- 
pleteness:— 1.  Certain  benefits  to  be  secured.  II. 
The  Conditions.  III.  The  Vow  or  Oath,  mutually 
given  by  the  contracting  parties.  IV.  The  Seal. 
All  of  these  we  have  in  the  Covenant  of  Baptism. 

The  blessing  secured  hereby,  is  beyond  all  calcu- 
lation valuable.  "  The  gold  and  the  crystal  cannot 
equal  it,  and  the  exchange  of  it  shall  not  be  for 
jewels  of  fine  gold."  We  find  it  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  Genesis,  "  And  I  will  establish  my  cove- 
nant between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee, 
in  their  generations,  for  an  everlasting  covenant." 
For  what  purpose  1  "  To  be  a  God  unto  thee  and 
TO  THY  SEED  AFTER  THEE."  What  greater  good  in 
either  world  do  we  need?  *'  I  will  be  their  God." 
It  means,  not  simply  I  will  be  the  God  of  their  creed, 
the  God  in  whom  they  believe,  and  whom  they  wor- 
ship, but  their  inheritance,  their  rich  and  everlasting 
portion.  It  is  not  for  me  to  number  the  blessings  in- 
cluded in  this  simple  promise,  to  measure  the  limits  to 
which  those  blessings  extend,  to  fathom  their  depth, 
nor  to  tell  their  value.  Short  and  simple  though  it 
be,  there  are  mercies  and  favours  included  in  it,  of 
which  we  are  utterly  ignorant,  and  of  which  we  can 
form  no  conception.  It  is  a  promise  which  appears 
to  embrace  every  good  which  man  could  desire.  In 
its  comprehensive  grasp  it  takes  in  all  that  is  valua- 


28  BAPTISMAL 

ble  for  time,  all  that  is  needful  for  eternity.  "  It  is 
adapted,"  says  Roley  in  his  lectures  on  Revealed 
Religion,  ^'  to  the  spiritual  nature,  the  deplorable 
circumstances,  the  enlarged  desires,  the  vast  capa- 
cities, the  immortal  duration  of  our  souls."  **  I  will 
BE  THEIR  God."  My  wisdom,  my  power,  my  omnis- 
cience, and  my  love  shall  all  be  exercised  in  their 
behalf.  The  blood  of  my  own  Son  shall  atone  for 
their  guilt  :  his  merits  shall  satisfy  me  for  their  de- 
merits ;  with  his  unsullied  righteousness  shall  they  be 
clothed.  My  Holy  Spirit  shall  convert,  sanctify,  as- 
sist and  defend  them.  I  will  be  their  *'  rock,"  their 
'*  refuge,"  their  "  wall  of  fire,"  their  "  strong  arm," 
and  their  <' salvation." 

This  is  the  rich  promise  of  the  Covenant:  "1 
WILL  BE  THEIR  GoD."  It  ruus  through  the  pages  of 
the  Sacred  Volume  like  a  beautiful  woof  of  gold.  It 
would  be  a  delightful  task  to  cull  from  those  pages 
the  repeated  instances,  in  which  God  was  mindful  of 
his  covenant  people,  and  all  in  fulfilment  of  this 
very  promise.  We  might  show  how  that  it  secured 
for  them  deliverance  from  bondage,  aid  in  times  of 
peril ;  his  gracious  presence  when  most  it  was 
needed — preservation  in  times  of  danger,  and  food, 
and  clothing,  and  earthly  riches,  and  how,  above  all, 
it  is  to  the  believing  people  of  God  in  every  age 
their  surest  guaranty  for  the  supply  of  their  spiritual 
necessities,  securing  to  them  God's  unfailing  pre- 
sence, the  riches  of  his  grace,  the  outpourings  of  his 
Spirit,  heavenly  knowledge,   and  then,  ultimately, 


OBLIGATIONS.  2& 

the  glories  of  eternity.  See  Luke  i.  68,  73.  Rev. 
xxi.  3,  7.  I  cannot  express  the  pleasure  with  which 
I  have  examined  the  Word  of  God,  for  passages 
bearing  upon  this  point,  nor  can  I  but  regard  it  as  an 
evidence  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  that 
this  simple  promise  is  so  frequently  referred  to  by  its 
various  writers.  The  repeated  mention  which  is 
made  of  it  from  Genesis  to  the  21st  chapter  of  Re-* 
Velation,  the  very  many  instances,  in  which  the  in* 
troduction  of  it  appears  to  be  casual,  affords  very 
strong  and  conclusive  proof  that  all  the  books  of 
Scripture  were  the  work  of  one  Almighty  and  All- 
wise  mind. 

This,  then,  is  the  rich  blessing  which  the  cove- 
nant of  Baptism,  in  common  with  that  of  Circum- 
cision, was  designed  to  secure.  In  the  latter,  how- 
ever, there  was  another  good  extended  to  Abraham, 
which  was  typical  of  one  secured  both  to  him,  and  to 
his  believing  children  in  all  ages.  The  Almighty, 
after  having  promised  to  be  a  God  unto  Abraham, 
and  to  his  seed,  immediately  adds,  "«^nc?  I  will  give 
unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee  the  land  ■where- 
in thou  art  a  stranger,  all  the  land  of  CanaanP* 
But,  evidently  giving  him  to  understand  which  was 
the  chief  benefit  secured  by  this  engagement.  He 

*  May  il  not  be,  in  fulfilment  of  this  very  promise,  that  the  dis- 
persed Jews  will  again  be  placed  in  possession  of  their  own  land  ? 
Do  not  passages  of  Scripture  warrant  the  hope  that  they  will  re- 
turn to  God,  and  perform  the  great  condition  of  the  covenant  by 
believing  in  the  Messiah  ?     See  Rom.  1 1 — 23. 


30  BAPTISMAL 

immediately  after  repeats,  in  the  very  same  verse, 
"  And  I  WILL  BE  THEIR  GoD."  This  alone  is  amply 
sufficient  to  complete  their  everlasting  happiness, 
and  with  this  they  may  rest  assured  of  every  tem- 
poral good. 

The  land  of  promise  was,  by  the  believing  Jews 
themselves,  regarded  as  typical  of  the  heavenly  Ca- 
naan. It  was  the  heavenly  rest  which  wrs^^ preacked^^ 
to  them,  and  on  which  their  hopes  had  fixed  an  eager 
gaze.  Heb.  iv.  1 — 11.  What  was  the  consequence? 
Why,  to  the  land  whence  they  sprung,  they  turned 
no  longing  eye,  for  *'  truly  if  they  had  been  mindful 
of  that  country ^  from  whence  they  carne  out-,  they 
might  have  had  opportunity  to  have  returnedJ'^ 
And  even  in  the  promised  land  they  are  not  at  home, 
for  they  confess  themselves  "  strangers  andpilgrims^'' 
and  "  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  an  heaxenly. '''''* 
Heb.  xi.  13 — 16.  From  what  immediately  follows 
in  this  interesting  account  of  the  believing  Jews, 
we  may  rationally  conclude,  that  if  their  chief  anx- 
iety had  centred  in  the  promise  of  earthly  possessions, 
the  Almighty  would  have  shrunk  from  acknowledge 
ing  himself  to  be  their  God.  "  /^Vier^re,"  says  the 
Apostle,  since  they  confess  themselves  strangers  and 

*  Does  not  the  fact,  that  Abraham  lived  one  hundred  ycarfl, 
nearly  two-thirds  of  his  whole  life  in  Canaan,  and  that  he  had 
^^  none  inheritance  in  it,  no,  not  so  much  as  to  set  his  foot  on,^ 
lend  additional  force  to  this  argument,  proving  that  he  regarded 
the  heavenly  country  as  the  chief  possession,  secured  lo  him  in 
the  typical  Canaan. 


OBLIGATIONS.  31 

pilgrims  here,  and  desire  a  heavenly  country,  "  God 
is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God. 

How  rich,  then,  is  the  blessing  secured  in  the  Bap- 
tismal Compact, — Christ  for  our  Redeemer,  the  Holy 
Ghost  for  our  Sanctifier,  God  for  our  portion,  and 
heaven  for  our  home  ! 

The  CONDITIONS  are  short  and  simple.  The  me- 
mory is  not  burdened  in  retaining  them.  Scarcely 
a  child  can  be  found  educated  in  our  own  church, 
who  is  unable  to  enumerate  them.  Propose  the 
question, — ''  What  did  your  parents  and  sponsors, 
then,  "  for  you  ?"  and  he  will  repeat  the  conditions 
of  the  Baptismal  Covenant : — "  They  did  promise 
and  vow  three  things  in  my  name."  In  three  words 
may  they  be  summed  up.  Repentance,  Faith  and 
Obedience. 

It  may  be  demanded,  by  what  authority  the 
Church  makes  these  requirements  of  her  young  dis- 
ciples? We  reply,  that  it  is  not  the  Church,  but  the 
word  of  God  which  makes  them.  But  where  does 
the  word  of  God  lay  them  down,  as  conditions  of  the 
Baptismal  Compact  ?  To  this  we  reply,  that,  al- 
though we  can  point  to  no  passage  in  which  this  is 
expressly  done,  they  are  nevertheless  as  obviously 
shown  to  be  the  terms  of  the  Compact,  and  as  autho- 
ritatively insisted  upon  as  they  could  be  in  a  positive 
declaration  to  that  effect. 

We  refer  to  a  few  passages,  out  of  the  many  with 
which  the  word  of  God  abounds.  That  Repentance 
is  one  conndition,  see  Jer.  xxiv.  7.     "  And  they  shall 

3 


32  BAPTISMAL 

be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God."  I  will  be- 
stow the  full  promise  of  the  covenant  upon  then), 
'•''for  they  shall  return  unto  rne  with  their  whole 
heart.'' 

But  Faith  is  the  grand  condition.  Of  this  we  have 
evidence  in  the  fact  that,  even  the  temporal  blessing 
was  not  conferred  upon  the  ancient  Jews  without  it; 
an  entrance  into  the  promised  land  being  denied 
them,  because  they  had  not  fulfilled  this  important 
condition.  '^  They  entered  not  in  because  of  unbe- 
lief.''  And  this  was  the  only  cause,  for  their  cove- 
nant God  had  evinced  the  utmost  willingness  to  per- 
form his  part  of  the  compact.  Whatever  might 
obstruct  their  progress  to  that  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,  was  removed.  Opposing  enemies 
fled,  or  fell  before  them.  Seas  were  divided.  Food 
from  heaven,  and  water  from  the  rock  supplied  their 
necessities.  '*  In  the  day-time,  also,  he  led  them 
with  a  cloud,  and  all  the  night  w^ith  a  light  of  tire:" 
in  fact,  nothing  was  permitted  to  prevent  the 
abundant  fulfilment  of  the  promise  but  their  own 
unbelief;  for  that  one  cause  they  were  excluded,  and 
their  carcases  perished  in  the  wilderness.  See  Heb. 
iii.  S,  12,  16,  19— iv.  3,  6,  11. 

We  know,  moreover,  that  the  Almighty  became 
•'  the  God  of  Abraham,"  and  bestowed  upon  him 
the  blessing  of  eternal  life,  and  we  are  assured  that 
faith  will  procure  for  us  the  same  exceeding  great 
and  precious  gift.  "  They  which  be  of  faith  are 
blessed  with  faithful  Abraham;"  blessed  in  the  same 
manner,  and  with  the  same  rich  reward.  (Gal.  iii.  9.) 


OBLIGATIONS.  33 

Obedience,  the  third  article  of  the  agreement,  is 
repeatedly  insisted  upon,  affording  as  it  does,  the 
best  evidence  of  a  sincere  and  lively  faith.  *'If  ye 
walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  my  commandments, 
and  do  them,  I  w^ill  walk  among  you,  and  will  be 
your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people."  (Levit.  xxvi. 
3,  12.)  "Obey  my  voice,  and  I  will  be  your  God, 
and  ye  shall  be  my  people."  Jer.  vii.  23.  See  also 
chap.  xii.  4,  5 — xxxi.  33. 

This  condition  is  also  plainly  enforced  in  the  com- 
mand of  Christ  to  his  apostles,  "Baptizing  them  in 
the  name,  &c.,  teaching  them  to  do  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  yoiiT 

In  connection  with  the  Promise  of  the  Covenant, 
a  change  of  heart  is  also  spoken  of,  not  as  a  condi- 
tion, but  as  a  necessary  pre-requisite,  in  order  to  se- 
cure a  hearty  compliance  with  the  terms  laid  down, 
and  a  meetness  in  receiving  the  promised  blessing. 
<^'  And  I  will  give  them  one  heart,  and  I  will  put  a 
new  spirit  within  you ;  and  I  will  take  the  stony 
heart  out  of  their  flesh,  and  will  give  them  an  heart 
of  flesh :  that  they  may  walk  in  my  statutes,  and 
keep  mine  ordinances,  and  do  them,  and  they  shall 
be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God."  (Ezek. 
xi.  19,  20.)  "  I  will  cleanse  them  ;  so  shall  they  be 
my  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God."     (xxxvii.  23.) 

The  conditions  of  the  Covenant  are  not  mere  ar- 
bitrary conditions,  such  as  derive  their  obligation 
solely  from  the  will  of  the  righteous  Sovereign  who 


34  BAPTISMAL 

proposes  them  ;  but  they  are  such,  as  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  must  be  fulfilled  before  the  guilty 
rebel  can  be  restored  to  the  favour,  and  prepared 
for  the  enjoyment  of  God.  No  objection,  therefore, 
should  be  raised  against  the  reasonableness  of  the 
conditions,  nor  against  the  goodness  of  God,  in  ma- 
king them  ;  and  the  Church  is  perfectly  justifiable  in 
binding  her  young  disciples  for  the  fulfilment. 

To  obviate  every  difficulty,  arising  from  a  misun- 
derstanding of  the  sacred  ordinance  and  its  holy 
vows,  the  conditions  of  the  Covenant  are  separately 
and  distinctly  read  to  those  who  bring  their  children 
to  her  ministers  for  baptism,  and  to  each  of  these 
conditions,  individually,  do  ihey  vow  a  compliance 
on  the  part,  and  in  the  name  of  the  child.  They 
promise,  first,  that  he  shall  "  renounce  the  devil  and 
all  his  works,  the  vain  pomp  and  glory  of  the  world, 
with  all  covetous  desires  of  the  same,  and  the  sinful 
desires  of  the  flesh  ;  so  that  he  will  not  follow  nor  be 
led  by  them :"  and  here  is  Repentance,  which  is  one 
condition  of  the  Covenant.  They  promise,  secondly, 
that  he  shall  ''  believe  all  the  articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,"  and  here  is  Faith,  which  is  another  con- 
dition ;  and,  thirdly,  that  he  shall  "  obediently  keep 
God's  holy  will  and  commandments,  and  walk  in  the 
same  all  the  days  of  his  life ;"  and  here  is  the  third 
condition. 

The  same  custom  prevailed  in  the  early  ages  of 
the  Christian  church.  Learned  commentators  agree 
that  the  apostle  Peter  refers  to  the  answers  given  to 


OBLIGATIONS.  35 

these  or  similar  questions,  when  he  speaks  of  Baptism 
saving  us  "  by  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience." 
(1  Pet.  iii.  21.)  We  are  told  by  an  ancient  Father, 
(Tertullian,)  that  it  was  customary  to  demand  of 
those  who  presented  themselves  for  Baptism,  "  Dost 
thou  renounce  Satan  ?  Dost  thou  believe  Christ  V' 
and  they  answered,  "  I  renounce  :  I  believe."  Hence 
our  own  Church  continues  the  same  practice  in  her 
Baptismal  Service,  and  that  her  young  disciple  may 
not  be  left  in  ignorance  of  a  duty  imposed  by  so  many 
solemn  considerations,  most  beautifully  and  clearly 
does  she,  in  her  simple  expositions  of  the  several  arti- 
cles of  the  Compact,  set  forth  their  full  import.  In 
the  first  he  is  taught  that  the  most  essential  part  of 
true  repentance  consists  in  forsaking  all  manner  of 
sin,  affording,  as  it  does,  the  strongest  evidence  of 
sorrow  for  the  past ;  in  the  second,  that  the  substance 
of  faith  is  believing  in  God  the  Father,  who  hath 
made  him  and  all  the  world;  in  God  the  Son,  who 
hath  redeemed  him  and  all  mankind ;  and  in  God  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  sanctifieth  him  and  all  the  people 
of  God ;  and,  in  the  third,  that  obedience  to  God's 
holy  will  and  commandments  consists  in  discharging 
his  duty  first  to  God,  which  is,  "  to  believe  in  Him, 
to  fear  Him,  and  to  love  Him  with  all  the  heart, 
with  all  the  mind,  with  all  the  soul,  and  with  all  the 
strength ;  to  worship  Him  ;  to  give  Him  thanks  ;  to 
put  his  whole  trust  in  Him;  to  call  upon  Him;  to 
honour  His  holy  name,  and  His  word  ;  and  to  serve 
Him  truly  all  the  days  of  his  life :"  and  then,  to  his 

3^ 


38  BAPTISMAL 

neighbour,  which  is,  "  to  love  him  as  himself,  and  to 
do  to  all  men  as  he  would  they  should  do  to  him :  to 
love,  honour  and  succour  his  father  and  mother  :  to 
honour  and  obey  the  civil  authority :  to  submit  him- 
self to  all  his  governors,  teachers,  spiritual  pastors 
and  masters :  to  order  himself  lowly  and  reverently  to 
all  his  betters:  to  hurt  no  body  by  word  nor  deed:  to 
be  true  and  just  in  all  his  dealings :  to  bear  no  ma- 
lice nor  hatred  in  his  heart :  to  keep  his  hands  from 
picking  and  stealing,  and  his  tongue  from  evil  speak- 
ing, lying  and  slandering :  to  keep  his  body  in  tem- 
perance, soberness  and  chastity  :  not  to  covet  nor 
desire  other  men's  goods,  but  to  learn  and  labour 
truly  to  get  his  own  living,  and  to  do  his  duty  in  that 
state  of  life  unto  which  it  shall  please  God  to  call 
him." 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  clear,  full,  and  simple  ex- 
position of  the  several  articles  of  the  Baptismal  Cove- 
nant :  and  I  cannot  but  view  it,  as  an  evidence  of 
the  wisdom,  and  tender  regard  of  the  Church  for  her 
young  members,  that  she  has  thus  provided  for  their 
thorough  instruction,  in  such  an  important  branch 
of  their  religious  duty.  She  takes  them  in  her  arms, 
as  the  covenant-children  of  God,  nourishing,  foster- 
ing and  educating  them  as  such. 

An  objection  may  be  started,  here,  which  claims 
some  notice.  If  the  blessing,  which  embraces  the 
gift  of  eternal  life,  be  conferred  upon  certain  condi- 
tions, it  cannot  be  of  grace.  The  objection  carries 
upon  its  front,  some  degree  of  plausibility.      But  in 


OBLIGATIONS.  37 

answer  to  it,  we  reply  that,  the  whole  covenant,  is 
a  covenant  of  grace.  The  very  conditions  prove  it 
to  be  such ;  this  is  the  apostle's  grand  argument  in 
establishing  this  very  point.  "  Therefoi^  it^^  (name- 
ly, the  promise,)  "  is  of  faith  that  it  might  be  by 
GRACE."  ''It  is  not  through  the  law^^  of  works  to 
which  merit  may  be  attached.  "  For  if  they  which 
are  of  the  law  be  heirs,  faith  (or  grace)  is  made 
void,  and  the  promise  made  of  none  effect."  This 
is  his  argument  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  and 
we  find  him  engaged  in  establishing  this  very  same 
point,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  drawing  a 
broad  line  of  distinction  between  the  covenapt  made 
with  Abraham  as  a  covenant  of  grace,  and  the  legal 
covenant,  as  one  of  works. 

The  promise  itself  shows  it  to  be  a  covenant  of 
grace.  The  Almighty  Jehovah  was  bound  neither 
in  justice  nor  in  mercy,  to  become  the  friend  and 
Saviour  of  fallen  man.  That  he  is  pleased  to  ex- 
tend such  a  favour,  even  upon  condition^  is  an  act 
of  his  free  grace.  He  was  not  bound  to  extend  it, 
upon  any  terms.  His  justice,  truth  and  mercy  would 
have  stood  confessed  by  the  whole  universe,  even 
had  man  been  utterly  and  forever  forsaken.  The 
Covenant  of  Baptism  is,  therefore,  a  covenant  of 
grace.  Like  that,  made  with  Abraham,  it  is  a 
''a  covenant  confirmed  of  God  in  Christ'^  Gal. 
iii.  17.  It  was  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ  which 
established  the  whole  compact;  free  grace  which 
proposed  the  conditions;  free  grace  which  enables 


3S  BAPTISMAL 

US  to  fulfil  them,  and  free  grace  which  extends  the 
promised  blessing. 

The  precious  blood-shedding  and  the  all-prevailing 
intercession  of  our  great  High  Priest,  procured 
God's  covenant  oath,  procured  the  conditions,  the 
blessing  and  the  consent  of  the  Almighty  to  grant  it 
upon  those  conditions. 

We  would  carefully  exclude  every  idea  of  merit, 
on  the  part  of  the  sinner.  The  fullest  performance 
of  these  conditions,  merits  nothing.^    All  is  of  grace. 

'Tis  He  that  works  to  will, 

'Tis  He  that  works  to  do, 
His  is  the  power  by  which  we  act, 

His  be  the  glory  too. 

The  PROMISE  or  vow  of  the  Baptismal  Sacrament, 
is  no  less  solemn  and  obligatory  than  an  oath.  It 
can  be  regarded  in  no  other  light.  The  ffict  that  it 
is  given  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  obligations 
of  a  covenant  engagement  ;  that  it  is  given  through 
a  minister  of  Christ  to  the  God  of  the  covenant ;  in 
the  name  of  each  person  of  the  Trinity;  after  due 
deliberation;  and  duly  sealed,  invests  it  with  a  solem- 
nity and  importance,  not  at  all  inferior  to  the  most 
sacred  oath. 

The  sponsor  in  behalf  of  the  young  disciple,  and 
in  his  name,  gives  this  vow  to  Almighty  God  ;  and 
the  oath,t  which   the  Almighty  gives  to  the  young 

*  See  Burkitt  on  Hcb.  v.  9  :  the  passage  is  too  long  to  quote. 
I  The  Almighty  gave  an  oath  in  the  covenant  of  Circumcision, 
Gen.  xxvi.  3 ;  Deui.  ix  f>. 


OBLIGATIONS.  39 

disciple  is,  "  I  will  be  thy  God  :"  and  then  to  per- 
fect the  agreement,  and  close  the  interesting  cere- 
mony, the  SEAL  is  imparted  by  the  application  of 
water,  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity :  and  as  a 
token  that  he  "shall  not  be  ashamed  to  confess  the 
faith  of  Christ  crucified  and  manfully  to  fight  under 
his  banner,"  the  sign  of  the  hallowed  cross  is  made 
upon  his  forehead.  This  is  not  the  innovation  of  a 
modern  or  of  an  apostate  age,  for  it  existed  "  long 
before  the  Church  declined  from  the  simplicity  and 
purity  of  the  primitive  faith.  St.  Augustine  and  St. 
Cyprian,  both  speak  of  this  use  of  the  cross  and  say, 
'  It  was  marked  on  the  forehead,  the  seat  of  blushing 
and  shame,  that  the  baptized  person  might  never 
blush  nor  be  ashamed  of  the  disgraced  cross  of  Christ.' 
This  custom  originated  in  those  early  ages  of  the 
Church,  when  the  manner  in  which  the  founder  of 
Christianity  was  put  to  death,  was  considered  a  stig- 
ma on  all  who  embraced  the  Gospel,  and  when  he 
who  received  Christian  baptism,  exposed  himself  by 
this  act  to  persecution  and  death." 

Water,  whatever  be  the  mode  of  its  application, 
is  an  appropriate  seal  of  this  interesting  compact. 
It  has  ever  been  customary  among  all  nations,  in  ap- 
pointing seals  for  their  oaths,  to  establish  such  as 
shouldconvey  some  pointed  meaning  to  the  contract- 
ing parties.  An  ancient  poet*  tells  us  of  a  treaty 
entered  into  by  two  nations,  the  oaths  of  which  were 

»  Homer's  II.  III. 


40  BAPTISMAL 

confirmed  by  pouring  forth  a  libation  of  wine.  Now, 
although  the  simple  fact  of  its  sealing  an  oath,  were 
amply  sufficient  to  invest  the  act  with  the  most  sa- 
cred importance,  yet,  when  the  thing  signified  there- 
by, comes  to  be  understood,  its  solemnity  and  sacred- 
ness  are  greatly  enhanced.  The  same  poet  tells  us 
that,  when  the  wine  w'as  poured  out,  they  prayed 
to  the  gods,  ^^O  may  the  blood  of  those  who  first 
violate  the  treaty,  flow  like  this  wine,  upon  the 
ground."  Here,  then,  was  the  thing  signified  by  the 
seal. 

In  some  countries  it  was  customary  for  parties 
entering  into  agreement  to  seal  their  oaths  by  dividing 
some  animal,  most  frequently  a  calf,  and  passing  be- 
tween the  parts,  signifying  that  if  either  of  them 
should  prove  fake  to  their  oath,  their  own  bodies 
might  thus  be  severed  in  twain.  Sometimes,  the  sim- 
ple act  of  raising  the  hand  towards  heaven,  was 
used  in  sealing  their  covenant  vows,  meaning  that  they 
invoked  the  vengeance  of  God,  if  they  did  not  per- 
form what  they  promised.  In  Christian  countries  it 
is  customary  to  lay  the  hand  upon  the  Bible  and  kiss 
it,  signifying  that  the  individual  is  willing  to  forfeit 
all  the  blessings  therein  promised,  and  suflfer  all  the 
woes  therein  denounced,  if  wdiat  he  affirms  be  not 
true,  or  what  he  promises  be  not  fulfilled.  So  the 
use  of  water  in  the  Christian  Covenant,  whilst  it  is 
the  Seal  of  the  Vow,  possesses  also  its  appopriate  sig- 
nification, which  is  the  washing  of  the  heart  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  the  necessity  of  this  washing  to  se- 


OBLIGATIONS.  41 

cure  a  faithful  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the 
agreement.* 

Precisely  the  same  relation  which  the  dividing  af 
the  victim,  the  libation  of  wine,  the  uplifting  of  the 
hand  to  heaven,  and  kissing  the  Bible  bear  to  the 
oaths  referred  to,  does  the  application  of  water  in  the 
Baptismal  Covenant  sustain  to  the  promise  and  vow 
therein  given  :  it  is  the  seal,  possessing  its  appropriate 
meaning.  To  pour  abowl  of  wine  upon  the  ground, 
to  kiss  the  Bible,  or  elevate  the  right  hand  towards 
heaven,  were,  in  itself,  an  affair  of  no  moment  what- 
ever ;  but  when  it  becomes  the  seal  of  an  oath,  and 
thus  an  act  of  solemn  confirmation,  carrying  with  it 
a  significant  meaning,  a  sacred  importance  immedi- 
ately invests  it.  It  should  be  remembered,  that  to 
the  simple  application  of  water  in  Baptism,  Chris* 
tians  attach  no  material  importance,  but  to  that  act 
performed  for  a  certain  purpose,  in  obedience  to,  and 
in  the  name  of,  the  triune  God.     Of  itself,  abstract* 

*  Frequent  mention  is  made  in  Scripture  of  the  "  thing  signi- 
fied" by  Baptism,  "  I  will  pour  my  Spirit  upen  thy  seed,  and  my 
blessing  upon  thy  offspring."  Isaiah  xliv.  3.  "  He  shall  sprinkle 
many  nations."  Chap.  lii.  15.  "  I  will  spfinkle  clean  water  upori 
you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean — from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all 
your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you,"  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25.  It  is  worthy  of 
observation  that  here  the  thing  signified  by  the  Seal  of  the  Cove- 
nant is  spoken  of  in  connection  with  the  promise  of  the  Covenant. 
Comp.  V.  28,  •*  Having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  con- 
science." Heb.  X.  22.  Here,  then,  we  have  "  the  inward  spiritual 
grace,"  of  which  the  Catechism  asserts  Baptism  to  be  "  the  outward 
visible  sign." 


42  BAPTISMAL 

ediy  considered,  it  were  an  insignificant  action  ;  but 
when  performed,  as  Christians  perform  it,  in  the  name 
of  the  adorable  Trinity,  what  could  augment  the 
sanctity  of  the  deed,  or  what  impart  to  it  more  so- 
lemnity or  more  importance  ?  Its  very  simplicity, 
then,  becomes  one  of  its  most  beautiful  features,  and 
its  adaptation  to  the  unostentatious  character  and 
spirit  of  the  gospel  the  more  striking. 

Be  the  Baptismal  water  used  according  to  either 
mode,  pouring  or  immersion,  only  so  that  it  be  used 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  should  elicit  for  the  simple 
deed,  our  most  sacred  veneration.     Nothing  could 
entitle  it  to  more.     The  assertion  is  based  upon  the 
meaning  and  import  of  the  sacred  formula,  which 
may  be  considered  as  an  invocation  to  the  Holy  Tri- 
nity to  attest  this  covenant  oath,  and  the  act  which 
seals  it ;  or  it  may  mean,  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  I  seal  these 
vows,  and  introduce  thee  into  the  Christian  church  ; 
dedicate  thee  to  Almighty   God,  and  place  the  sign 
of  the  Christian  profession  upon  thee  :  and  I  also  seal 
the  oath  of  the  Almighty,  securing  to  thee  the  rich 
promise  of  the  Covenant,  fraught,  as  it  is,  with  every 
blessing  which  God  the  Father  gives,  pardon,  adop- 
tion, and  eternal  favour,  with  every  blessing  which 
God  the  Son  has  purchased,  redemption,  and  a  robe 
of  unsullied  righteousness,  and  with  every  blessing 
which  God  the  Holy  Ghost  confers,  converting,  as- 
sisting and  sanctifying  grace.    Or,  it  may  mean,  by 


OBLIGATIONS.  43 

the  authority  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  I 
perform  this  solemn  deed :  or,  I  baptize  thee  i7ito 
the  name  of  &c.,  and  then  its  meaning  i?,  I 
baptize  thee  into  the  faith  and  service  of  God,  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  Or,  possibly,  all  of 
these  meanings  may  be  attached  to  the  sacred  for- 
mula, for  they  do  not  conflict,  and  all  impart  a  sub- 
lime interest  and  solemnity  to  the  Baptismal  Sacra- 
ment, well  calculated  deeply  to  affect  the  heart.  O, 
if  the  whole  soul  be  not  in  the  deed,  is  it  not 
mockery  of  most  atrocious  character  to  baptize  an 
immortal  being  into  that  hallowed  name  ?  And  is  it 
not  an  offence  of  awful  magnitude  to  despise,  or  even 
lightly  to  esteem,  the  application  of  water,  when 
performed  by  the  authority  and  in  the  adorable  name 
of  each  person  of  the  Godhead  ?  Forever,  then,  be 
condemned  the  listlessness  which  too  often  attends 
the  administration  of  this  holy  sacrament ;  and  for- 
ever be  deprecated  the  spirit  which  is  prone  to  un- 
dervalue its  importance. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BAPTISM,  AN  INTRODUCTION  INTO  THE  CHURCH  ,*  A  MEANS 
OF  GRACE  ;  A  SIGN  OF  PROFESSION  ;  A  BIARK  OF  DIS- 
TINCTION ;  A  DEDICATION  TO  GOD. 

Having  considered  Baptism  in  its  primary  intent 
as  jthe  seal  of  the  Covenant,  we  now  proceed  to  the 
consideration  of  other  objects,  which  it  was  designed 
to  accomplish. 

It  serves  as  an  Initiatory  Rite,  by  which  ad- 
mission is  obtained  into  the  visible,  not,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, into  the  mystical  or  invisible  church.  This 
will  plainly  appear,  when  we  remember  that  the 
church  is  composed  of  the  covenant  people  of  God. 
The  same  act,  therefore,  which  introduces  us  into  a 
covenant  relation  with  him,  must  likewise  admit  us- 
into  His  church.  The  analogy  between  Circumcision 
and  Baptism  is  preserved  in  this  point  also,  the  for- 
mer having  been  the  door  of  entrance  into  the 
Church,  under  the  old  dispensation^  the  latter  under 
the  new,  and  for  the  same  reason  that  both  were 
seals  of  the  covenant  between  God  and  his  people. 

That  this  was  one  important  design  of  the  Sacra- 
ment we  are  considering,  njay  be  inferred  from  the 


46  '  BAPTISMAL 

language  of  the  Apostle,  "  Baptized  into  07ie  hody.^'' 
The  Catechism  says,  '^  Baptism,  whereini  was* made 
a  member  of  Christ,  that  is  a  member  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  which  is  his  body.  It  is  also 
declared  to  be  "  a  sign  of  Regeneration,  or  New 
Birth,"  the  meaning  of  which  it  explained,  when 
it  is  added,  "  whereby,  as  by  an  instrument^ 
they  that  receive  baptism  rightly  are  grafted  into  the 
Church."  It  was  not  intended  to  teach  by  this  ex- 
pression that  Baptism  either  implied  or  imparted  a 
change  of  heart,,  but  simply  to  convey  the  same  idea 
which  is  contained  in  the  expression,  ^^ho7'n  of 
water:'  The  baptized  person  is  dead  in  regard  to 
his  condition  as  a  heathen,  but  alive  again  in  regard 
to  his  condition  as  a  Christian. 

This  is  the  doctrinal  view  of  baptismal  regenera- 
tion, entertained  by  the  Church,  and  with  it  her 
liturgical  view  is  perfectly  consistent,  and  both  we 
believe  to  be  in  entire  accordance  with  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Sacred  Volume.  To  be  horn  again  is 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  word  regeneration,  and  as 
the  Scriptures  speak  of  being  *'  horn  of  ivater^^ 
which  is  the  outward,  and  "  horn  of  the  Spirity"* 
which  is  the  inward  regeneration,  the  word  may  be 
used  with  perfect  propriety  in  the  Baptismal  Ser- 
vice. The  Apostle  Paul  appears  to  recognize  the 
same  distinction  in  his  epistle  to  Titus,  where  he 
speaks  of"  the  loashing  of  regeneration^^  and  "f/ie 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost ^'^  two  things,  the  latter 
of  which  differs  materially  from  the  former.  There 
are   but  two  passages  in  the  Sacred   Scriptures,  ii\ 


OBLIGATIONS.  47 

4which  the  word  regeneration  occurs,  and  this  is  one 
jof  them.  Its  meaning  here  is  obviously  not  a  change 
of  heart,  unless  we  may  suppose  the  word  of  God  to 
xiontain  unnecessary  and  expletive  expressions.  The 
sense,  therefore,  in  which  the  Church  uses  this  word 
is  the  sense  in  which  God's  word  uses  it — the  sense 
in  which  the  ancient  Jewish  teachers  used  it,  who 
were  accustomed  to  speak  of  those  as  6orw  again,  who 
were  introduced  into  the  Church  by  baptism,  the 
only  sense  in  which  it  was  used  anterior  to  the  Re- 
formation. 

Deeply  is  it  to  be  regretted,  that  a  simple  word 
should  be  an  occasion  of  offence  to  so  many  excellent 
and  pious  persons  in  our  own,  as  well  as  in  other 
Christian  Churches,  All  that  it  teaches  is,  that  by 
our  baptism  we  become  members  of  the  visible 
Church  of  Christ. 

Here  we  have  one  enviable  distinction  and  exalted 
privilege  conferred  by  this  holy  ordinance.  Gathered 
into  the  fold  of  the  heavenly  Shepherd,  the  baptized 
become  the  objects  of  His  peculiar  care.  Introduced 
into  the  family  of  Christ,  they  have  an  interest  in, 
and  a  claim  upon,  the  prayers  of  all  Christian  peo- 
ple, a  claim,  derived  no  less  from  "  the  badge  or 
token,"  which  declares  them  to  be  members  of  the 
Christian  household,  than  from  the  bond  of  the  fra- 
ternal love,  which  encircles  the  whole  family  of  the 
Saviour.  God's  faithful  people  are  expected  to  la-? 
hour  and  strive  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  bap^ 
dzed.  It  is  not  simply  by  motives  of  feeling,  that 
4* 


48  BAPTISMAL 

they  are  constrained  to  use  every  means  for  the  ae- 
complishment  of  this  end,  but  by  a  sense  of  duty 
seated  in  the  conscience,  and  subject  to  no  ebb  and 
flow.  And  who  shall  say  what  interest  may  not  be 
cherished  in  the  young  members  of  the  Christian 
household  by  the  family  in  heaven  1  Are  they  not 
all  named  after  one  great  Head  ?  And  is  it  not  a 
high  honor  to  be  allied  to  such  company,  and  is  it 
not  delightful  to  know  that  we  are  the  objects  of 
their  solicitude  ? 

Another  privilege  marks  more  distinctly  still  the 
enviable  lot  of  the  baptized.  Introduced  into  the 
Church  of  Christ,  they  are  as  trees  transplanted  into 
the  vineyard  of  the  husbandman.  In  the  w-ilderness 
they  might  have  been  exposed,  naked  and  unshel- 
tered, to  a  thousand  ills,  from  which  they  are  here 
protected.  In  the  high-way  they  might  have  been 
trodden  down.  In  the  bleak,  uncultivated  waste, 
they  might  have  perished  from  neglect,  and,  unfruit- 
ful trees,  none  would  have  lamented  their  decay. 
But  now  they  are  transplanted  to  a  kindlier  soil, 
where  many  ills,  destructive  to  the  soul's  best  inte- 
rests, are  averted,  and  many^  prejudicial  to  the 
growth  of  true  religion  in  the  heart,  are  prevented 
from  exerting  their  baleful  influence.  Nor  is  it  un- 
reasonable, neither  is  it  unjust,  that  the  husbandman 
should  turn  away  from  the  plant  by  the  high-way- 
side, and  from  the  vine  shooting  wild  in  the  forest,  to 
tend  with  peculiar  care  the  plant  and  the  vine  of 
his  own  vineyard  ;   and   who  shall  murmur  that  he 


OBLIGATIONS.  49 

waters,  and  prunes,  and  protects  these,  though  it 
might  be  to  the  neglect  of  all  others?  He  is  surely- 
right,  and  none  may  complain. 

With  equal  propriety,  and  without  incurring  the 
imputation  of  being  a  partial  God,  the  Almighty  may 
extend  peculiar  favours  to  the  baptized,  as  members 
of  the  Christian  Church.  With  peculiar  solicitude 
may  He  watch  over  them,  and  grant  a  peculiar 
measure  of  his  grace,  when  they  set  out  with  the  de- 
termination to  lead  a  godly  life.  "On  us  Chris- 
tians," says  Archbishop  Seeker,  "our  heavenly  Fa- 
ther confers,  in  our  baptism,  the  assurance  of  much 
greater  strength,  to  obey  His  commands  than  others 
have." 

The  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  an  especial 
grant,  pertains  to  the  baptized.  In  the  second  chap- 
ter of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  it  is  exp.'essly  de- 
clared, *'  The  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  chil- 
dren, and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as 
the  Lord  our  God  shall  call ;"  to  as  many  as  he  shall 
call  into  his  Church  by  Baptism. 

What  promise  ?  The  answer  may  b€  found  in  the 
preceding  verse: — "Ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  But  why  was  it  extended  exclusively 
to  them  ?  We  may  solve  the  question  by  referring 
to  the  25th  verse  of  the  following  chapter :- — "  Ye  are 
the  children  of  the  covenant." 

True,  others  may  sometimes  partake  of  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  but  it  is  conferred  in  fulfilment  of 
no  promise y  for  to  those  without  the  pale  of  the  Co" 


50  BAPTISMAL 

venant,  no  such  promise  is  extended.  When  the 
showers  of  heaven  descend  upon  the  earth,  the  field, 
the  barren  waste  and  the  garden,  aUke  enjoy  their 
refreshing  influences  ;  but  there  are  times  when  the 
field  and  the  barren  waste  lie  parched  and  desolate 
beneath  the  burning  sun  ;  but  the  garden,  watered 
by  the  hand  of  the  husbandnaan,  all  the  while 
flourishes  in  rich  luxuriance.  So  the  unbaptized 
may  sometimes  receive  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
but  it  is  upon  the  baptized  alone,  as  members  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  partakers  of  the  Covenant, 
that  God  bestow^s  His  distinguishing  regard.  The 
branch  of  "  the  wild  olive^^  may  possibly  bear  fruit, 
but  comparatively  meagre  it  must  ever  be  :  it  is  only 
when  ^^  grafted  into  the  good  olive-tree,''^  which  re- 
ceives the  culture  and  protecting  care  of  the  hus- 
bandman, that  it  partakes  of  its  "  root  and  fatness.''^ 

In  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  w^ere  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  Church  baptized:  we  must  not 
wonder,  therefore,  nor  breathe  a  murmur  of  com- 
plaint, that  He  should  be  more  willing  to  convert, 
sanctify,  aid  and  defend  them,  than  others,  by  whom 
he  has  been  less  highly  honoured. 

They  were  also  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  if  unto  him  "all  power  is  given"  in 
heaven,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  believe  that  as  he  is  able, 
so  he  is  more  willing  to  shower  down  from  heaven 
the  riches  of  divine  grace  upon  his  own  disciples  than 
upon  others.  We  are  told  by  the  Evangelist,  that 
after  his  exaltation  by  the  right  hand  of  God,  he  "  re* 


OBLIGATIONS.  51 

ceived  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
and  consequently  with  it  the  right  of  bestowing  it 
upon  whom  he  would.  The  same  inspired  writer 
also  informs  us  that  the  very  first  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  was  by  the  hand  of  the  glorified  Redeemer. 
Comp.  Acts.  ii.  4,  with  v.  33. 

This  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  Baptis- 
mal Sacrament  as  a  Means  of  Grace. 

In  the  Church  Catechism  we  are  taught  what  in- 
deed is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  conclusions  of 
reason  and  the  voice  of  the  word  of  God :  thatit  is  "  a 
means  whereby  we  receive  an  inward  spiritual  grace." 
Not  that  the  simple  act  of  Baptism  confers  this 
grace,  nor  that  it  is  in  the  act,  nor  o/it,  but  that  it 
is  by  or  through  it.  It  is  the  channel,  through 
which  grace  is  imparted  ;  but  as  the  channel  will  be 
dry  if  not  replenished  by  its  fountain,  so  there  will 
be  no  grace  in  Baptism  if  it  be  not  supplied  by  "  the 
fountain  of  living  waters."  That  ii'is possible  for  an 
infant  to  receive  this  heavenly  grace,  and  possible 
for  the  Almighty  to  convey  it,  through  Baptism,  none, 
I  presume,  will  deny — none  who  remember  that  il- 
lustrious example  of  a  child  *^  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  even  from  his  mother's  womb."  That  it  is 
reasonable  to  hope  and  believe  He  will,  has  already, 
we  think,  been  made  to  appear.* 

*  The  language  of  "  the  Confession  of  Faith''  is  very  strong  and 
very  decided  upon  this  point,  "by  the  right  use  of  this  Ordinance 
the  grace  promised  is  not  only  offered  but  really  exhibited  and 
conferred  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  such,  (whether  of  age,  or  in- 
fants,) as  that  grace  bclongeth  unto,  &c.     Chap,  xxviii.  Sect.  6. 


52  BAPTISMAL 

The  Holy  Spirit,  moreover,  works  by  means,  and 
we  can  conceive  no  reason  why  He  should  not  im- 
part His  sanctifying  and  restraining  grace  through 
this  sacrament,  as  well  as  through  other  means  which 
He  designs  to  bless.  And  surely  it  is  consistent  with 
perfect  justice  and  impartial  love,  that  the  Almighty 
should  open  this  channel  of  mercy,  that  He  should 
regard  with  peculiar  love,  and  distinguish  with  sin- 
gular marks  of  His  favour,  and  extend  exclusive  pro- 
mises to  those  who  honour,  or  whose  parents  honour 
for  them,  a  holy  institution,  venerable  for  its  age — 
coeval  with  the  Church,  the  result  of  divine  wisdom 
and  sovereign  love,  and  "  confirmed  of  God  in 
Christ." 

We  may  confidently  believe,  therefore,  that  the 
Great  Head  of  the  Church,  honouring  and  blessing 
his  own  appointment, — will,  through  this.  His  own 
sacrament  and  to  His  own  disciples,  extend  a  larger 
measure  of  divine  grace,  than  to  others. 

And,  who  shall  limit  the  operations  of  that  grace? 
Who  shall  presume  to  measure  the  extent  of  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  heart  and  future  life,  of  the  young 
disciple  1  What  sinful  inclinations,  may  it  not  eradi- 
cate ?  What  evil  passions,  may  it  not  restrain  ? 
What  unholy  thoughts  may  it  not  expel  ?  Anda  s  he 
steps  onward  to  riper  youth,  what  temptations  may  it 
not  enable  him  to  overcome  ?  What  longings  after 
true  religion  may  it  not  enkindle  in  his  breast  ? 

Is  it,  moreover,  an  unreasonable  supposition  that, 
God  should  bless  the   child  for  its    parent's  sake  ? 


OBLIGATIONS.  53 

The  merciful  Saviour  was  not  deaf  to  the  ruler's 
prayer,  but,  for  the  father's  faith,  raised  his  child 
from  the  bed  of  death:  ^^  According  to  thy  faith,  he  it 
unto  thee,^^  The  daughter  of  the  Syrophenecian 
woman,  greviously  vexed  with  a  devil  was  cured 
through  the  intercession  of  her  believing  mother  :— 
and  even  the  servant  of  the  centurion,  was  made 
whole,  for  his  master's  sake.  And  shall  that  parent's 
faith  be  disregarded,  who  craves  the  blessing  of  spiri- 
tual life  for  his  offsprings  and  shall  he  cry  in  vain, 
for  the  renovating  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  de^ 
scend  upon  his  child  ?  May  not  a  voice  from  Heaven^ 
speak  unto  him  also — **  According  to  thy  faith,  be 
it  unto  thee .?" 

The  Baptismal  Sacrament,  administered  in  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  becomes,  also,  a  "  Signt 
OF  Profession."  And  what  more  appropriate  cere- 
mony could  be  devised,  for  testifying  to  the  world,  our 
faith  in  Christ?  By  what  more  solemn  and  beautiful 
rite, — in  what  more  positive  and  decided,  humble  and 
unostentatious  manner,  could  we  profess  before  the 
world,  our  belief  in  the  Gospel  and  our  duty  to  obey  it? 

The  Church  beautifully  explains  what  our  baptis- 
mal profession  is,—"  to  follow  the  example  of  our 
Saviour  Christ  and  to  be  made  like  unto  him  ;  that 
as  he  died  and  rose  again  for  us,  so  should  we,  who 
are  baptized,  die  from  sin  and  rise  again  unto  right- 
eousness ;  continually  mortifying  all  our  evil  and 
corrupt  affections  and  daily  proceeding  in  all  virtue 
and  godliness  of  living." 


54  BAPTISMAL 

This  is  the  profession  of  the  Christian  sponsor,  and 
into  this  profession,  he  desires  to  baptize  the  child  of 
his  love> 

Intimately  allied  to  this  design  of  the  Baptismal 
Sacrament,  is  the  Badge  of  Distinction,  for  which 
it  was  also  intended.  It  is  *'  a  mark  of  difference, 
whereby  christian  men  are  discerned  from  others  that 
be  not  christened."*  Such  was  also  the  design  of 
Circumcision,  in  the  Jewish  Church. 

It  is  highly  proper  that,  there  should  be  some  mark 
or  sign,  by  which  the  friends  of  God  should  be  dis- 
tinguished from  His  enemies  and  by  which  the  mem* 
bers  of  his  Church,  in  all  ages,  might  be  known  from 
those,  who  are  not  members.  It  is  for  a  similar  rea* 
son  that,  the  flags  of  different  nations,  differ  in  their 
shape  or  colour,  and  the  soldiers  of  contending  armies, 
in  their  uniform. 

The  admirable  adaptation  of  the  Baptismal  Seal 
to  this  important  end,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that,  it  is 
solemnly  and  publicly  administered  in  the  face  of 
the  whole  world  if  they  choose  to  witness  it,  that  it 
is  "  definite,  unequivocal,  significant,  safe  from  being 
counterfeited  ;'^  and  that,  it  is,  and  ever  has  been, 
regarded  by  all  Christians  and  by  many  who  are  not 
Christians, — in  all  countries  and  in  all  ages  of  the 
Church,  as  a  mark  of  distinction. 

From  what  has  already  been  said,  we  clearly  per* 
ceive  that  Baptism  becomes  "  an  unequivocal  dedi- 

*  Article  of  Religion  xxvii. 


OBLIGATIONS.  55 

CATION  OF  THE  CHILD  TO  GOD.  That  the  ChuFch 
views  it  in  this  light,  will  appear  from  the  language 
employed  in  the  Baptismal  Service :— "  Grant  that 
whosoever  is  here  dedicated  to  Thee,"  &c.  We  can 
scarcely  conceive  it  possible  to  make  a  more  solemn 
and  unreserved  surrender  to  God,  of  the  body  and 
the  soul,  of  the  time  and  talents,  than  is  here  made. 
The  little  child,  not  only  by  word,  but  in  very  deed, 
is  given  to  the  Lord,  to  be  His  forever.  All  its 
strength  must  be  spent ;  all  its  powers  employed : 
all  its  faculties  exerted  in  His  service.  The  idol, 
SELF,  must  be  dethroned;  and  in  every  pleasure 
which  he  enjoys;  in  every  duty  which  he  performs; 
in  all  his  designs,  and  in  all  his  desires,  the  first  grand 
object  must  be  the  glory  of  that  God,  to  whom  he 
now  belongs,  by  an  additional  claim,  and  by  the  right 
of  a  more  peculiar  tenure. 

The  parent  who  presents  his  child  for  baptism, 
does,  by  that  act,  signify  his  intention  and  his  desire 
that  it  may  thus,  in  the  fullest  possible  sense,  belong 
to  God.  He  binds  him  to  the  service  of  the  Almighty 
forever,  and  enlists  him  under  the  banner  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  custom  which  now  prevails,  of  giving  the 
name  in  baptism,  existed  in  ancient  times.  It  is  sup- 
»^osed  by  some,  to  have  originated  in  the  practice  of 
servants  and  soldiers,  who  always  assumed  new 
names  whenever  they  entered  the  service  of  new 
masters  and  enlisted  under  new  leaders.  But  it  is 
more  probably  continued  from  the  same  custom  as 
5 


56  BAPTISMAL 

practised  in  Circumcision  ;  of  which  we  have  three 
examples,  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  John  the  Baptist 
and  Christ. 

The  name  is  given  on  this  occasion,  probably  that 
it  may  serve  as  a  memorial  that  the  individual  has 
been  brought  into  the  Christian  Covenant ;  introduced 
into  the  Christian  Church ;  baptized  into  the  profes- 
sion of  the  Christian  faith  ;  marked  with  the  sign  of 
distinction,  and  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity.  It 
is  therefore  called  the  Christian  name. 

The  privilege  must  not  be  overlooked,  which  the 
baptized  as  God's  covenant  people  enjoy,  in  having 
their  title  to  the  promised  blessing  secured.  The  ap- 
plication of  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  is 
the  token  or  pledge  of  that  title.  The  seal  of  Cir- 
cumcision made  Abraham  and  the  fathers,  '^  heirs  of 
the  promise  ;" — the  seal  of  Baptism  makes  the  chil- 
dren, "inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  But 
as  the  title  is  a  cofiditional  one,  it  is  for  those  who 
possess  it,  to  see  that  it  be  made  good,  by  a  compli- 
ance with  the  conditions.  Let  that  compliance  be 
yielded  with  a  ready  mind  and  a  willing  heart,  and 
God  will  not  be  slack  in  redeeming  his  pledge.  His 
faithfulness  and  truth  are  plighted  in  his  covenant- 
oath, — and  that  oath  is  confirmed,  by  a  seal  of  His 
own  appointment. 

The  unbaptized  have  no  part  nor  lot,  in  this  title 
to  the  rich  inheritance.  The  Almighty  Jehovah  is 
not  engaged  upon  any  conditions  to  become  their  God. 
True,  He  will  save  to  the  uttermost,  all  who  go  to 


OBLIGATIONS.  57 

Him  through  Christ,  but  no  pledge,  no  plighted  faith, 
no  vow  binds  Him  to  do  so.  By  the  Baptismal  Seal 
alone,  is  the  title  to  the  promise  conferred,  and  with 
it  alone,  this  pledge  is  given  to  the  covenant-people 
of  God. 

An  important  error  must  here  be  noted ;  one, 
against  which  a  warning  voice  should  be  loudly 
raised.  Vainly  do  some  imagine  that,  as  they  are 
members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  made  such,  by 
their  baptism,  and  such  acknowledged  to  be  by 
Christians,  they  shall  be  blessed  with  the  faithful  ser^ 
vanta  of  God  :-^that  as  they  have  Abraham  to  their 
father,  they  shall  be  blessed  with  Abraham. 

All  the  baptized,  it  is  granted,  are  nominally, 
members  of  the  Church, — but  between  the  godly 
and  the  ungodly,  there  is  a  broad  line  of  distinction 
to  be  drawn.  The  field  of  wholesome  and  nutritious 
grain  referred  to  in  the  Gospel  was  not  free  from 
^Haresy  The  net  cast  into  the  sea  ^^  gathered  of  every 
kind^''  out  of  which  they  '*  thre-w  the  had  awayy  On 
the  vine  were  some  branches  which  bore  no  fruit 
and  which  were,  consequently,  "  cast  forth  and 
withered  and  burned  in  the  fire-'*''  All  these,  the 
field,  the  net,  the  vine,  are  figures  of  the  visible 
Church,  in  which  the  bad  are  mingled  indiscrimi- 
nately with  the  good.  Facts,  in  abundance,  bear 
witness  to  the  melancholy  truth.  Ishmael  and  Esau, 
were,  by  circumcision,  members  of  the  Jewish  Church  ; 
Demas,  Simon  Magus,  Judas  Iscariot,  Hymeneus 
and  Philetus,  Annanias  and  Sapphira,  by  baptism, 


58  BAPTISMAL 

members  of  the  Christian,  but  all  of  them,  "  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity," 
"  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world."  For- 
ever then,  be  dispelled  the  vain  delusion,  that  our  in- 
troduction into  the  visible  Church,  is  all  that  is  need- 
ful for  the  soul's  everlasting  welfare. 


OBLIGATIONS.  59 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE     SOLEMNITY,    IMPORTANCE     AND     VALUE     OF     THE 
SACRAMENT. 

We  have  now  considered  the  Baptismal  Sacrament 
in  its  several  points  of  view,— the  important  ends 
w^hich  it  was  designed  to  accomplish,  and  the  inesti- 
mable privileges,  to  bestow.  We  have  seen  it  to  be 
*'  a  covenanV  most  wisely  and  admirably  "  ordered 
in  all  things  f^  and  all-worthy  to  be  regarded  with 
sacred  veneration  by  man,  as  it  is  honoured  and  ap- 
proved by  God. 

Shall  we  assert  too  much,  if  we  venture  to  affirm, 
that  the  whole  Trinity  are  present,  in  an  especial 
manner,  at  every  administration  of  the  sacred  ordi- 
nance? May  we  not  reasonably  hope  that  as  they 
were  all  present  at  the  memorable  Baptism,  in  the 
river  Jordan,  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  so 
they  will  be,  also,  at  the  Baptism  of  all  the  members, 
— God  the  Father  to  sanction  and  approve  the  act, 
and  affiliate  the  young  disciple, — God  the  Son  to 
receive  him,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  descend  with 
blessings  of  heavenly  grace  upon  him?  And  shall  that 
parent  be  cherishing  a  vain  delusion,  who,  when  his 


60  BAPTISMAL 

child  is  offered  up  to  the  God  of  the  covenant,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  appointment,  imagines  a  voice 
from  heaven  saying,  "  This  is  my  beloved  son?" 

0,  if  the  warm  feelings  of  the  bosom  be  enlisted ; 
— if  the  "  live  coals'^  of  intense  desire  and  of  fervid 
zeal,  burn  upon  the  altar  of  the  heart; — if  every 
prayer  ascend,  flaming,  to  the  throne  of  God,  what 
an  affecting  sight  must  the  administration  of  the 
Baptismal  Sacrament  be!  Angels  may  delight  to 
gaze  upon  it, — 

"  For,  'twas  to  bless  such  souls  as  these, 
The  God  of  angels  came." 

The  minister  stands,  as  it  were,  between  God  and 
the  child, — as  the  ambassador  of  Christ,  commis- 
sioned, to  administer  the  seal  of  the  covenant,  thus 
confirming  the  mutual  vow  and  promise  betwixt  them 
made.  He  stands  also  between  God  and  the  parent; — 
receiving  the  child  from  the  parent, /or  God. 

O  what  a  sight  of  deep  solemnity  and  of  absorb- 
ing interest  is  this!  A  Christian  parent,  or  some 
faithful  Christian  friend,  standing  beside  the  hallow- 
ed font,  to  perform  the  most  sacred  duty  of  parental 
love,  or  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  self-denying  acts 
of  Christian  sympathy!  With  a  heart,  deeply  af- 
fected by  a  sense  of  the  heavy  responsibility,  which 
he  is  about  to  assume; — with  warm  affection  for  the 
immortal  being  entrusted  to  his  care; — eternity,  full 
in  view  ; — the  congregation  of  God's  people,  bearing 
witness  to  the  deed  ; — he  stands  to  assent  to  the  treaty 


OBLIGATIONS.  61 

which  Almighty  God  proposes.  In  heart,  desiring  for 
the  little  infant,  the  promised  blessing,  and  in  his 
judgment  approving  the  conditions, — to  secure  the 
one,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  lay  the  other  upon  him, 
by  a  solemn  vow.  With  a  becoming  humility,  and  a 
firm  reliance  upon  Almighty  aid,  he  ventures  to 
obligate  himself,  by  most  serious  considerations,  to 
put  forth  every  exertion  to  make  the  young  disciple 
faithful  and  true  to  his  Baptismal  vows,  or  to  see  that 
it  be  done.  He  rests  upon  the  promise  that,  to  faith- 
ful instruction,  combined  with  importunate  and  fer- 
vent prayer,  the  blessing  of  God's  grace  shall  be  im- 
parted, and  he  confidently  believes  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  will  descend  and  do  that,  which,  without  the 
Holy  Spirit,  could  not  be  done.  The  affecting  so- 
lemnity is  over.  The  deed  is  registered  on  high. 
What  interest  from  that  moment  gathers  round  the 
young  soldier !  The  mother  takes  him  back  to  her 
bosom, — 

«'  With  Jesus'  mark  impressed, 
To  nurse  for  Jesus'  sake," — 

a  child  of  prayer, — an  inheritor  of  the  golden  prom- 
ise,— dedicated  to  God, — introduced  into  His  Church, 
and  an  object  of  deeper  interest  to  his  parents,  to 
Christian  people  and  to  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  in  whose  hallowed  name  he  has  been  baptized. 
For  that  young  disciple,  the  congregation  of  faithful 
Christians,  pour  forth  their  united  supplication,  and 
to  him,  and  to  every  baptized  person,  young  and  old, 


62  BAPTISMAL 

the  minister  of  Christ  turns  with  an  eye  of  tenderest 
regard,  of  watchful  anxiety,  and  of  deep  solicitude, 
as  one,  for  whom  he  is  bound  to  pray  with  peculiar 
fervency  ;  to  whose  eternal  interests,  peculiar  obli' 
gations  urge  him  to  be  faithful,  and  upon  whom,  the 
Church  of  the  living  God  has  a  peculiar  claim. 

From  the  position,  at  which  we  have  contemplated 
the  Baptismal  Covenant,  we  are  compelled  to  the 
belief  that,  there  are  singular  and  exclusive  facihties, 
enjoyed  by  every  one  within  its  pale,  for  the  great 
work  of  salvation.  If  the  parent  or  sponsor  who 
brings  his  child  into  this  solemn  engagement,  come 
with  sincerity  of  purpose  and  confiding  faith  ;  and  if 
the  child  himself,  so  soon  as  he  shall  be  able  to  learn, 
be  made  to  feel  his  baptismal  responsibilities,  and  to 
realize  and  appreciate  his  privileges,  rich  will  be  the 
promise  of  a  holy  life.  Here,  we  have  seen,  he  has 
a  share  in  the  anxieties  and  prayers  of  the  people  of 
God, — an  especial  claim  upon  the  anxieties  and 
prayers  of  his  ministers;  a  new  channel  of  grace  is 
opened  for  him,  and  the  faithfulness  and  truth  of  God, 
are  pledged  for  his  everlasting  welfare.  Encouraged 
by  such  animating  assurances,  he  is  enabled  by  the 
ardour,  which  the  certainty  of  success  imparts,  to 
surmount  many  obstacles  and  to  bear  up  under  many 
discouragements  which  would  otherwise  impede  his 
upward  progress. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  we  perceive  the  great 
importance  of  this  Holy  Sacrament,  and  the  conse^ 
quent  duty  devolving  upon  every  parent,  to  secure 
its  inestimable  privileges  for  his  children. 


OBLIGATIONS.  63 

There  are  declarations  in  the  word  of  God,  the 
import  of  which,  is  fearful  indeed,  and  should  carry 
to  the  bosom  of  the  ungodly  parent  the  most  serious 
apprehensions,  for  himself  and  his  offspring.  We  are 
not  ignorant,  that  a  meaning  has  been  attached  to 
these  passages,  differing  from  that  which  we  have 
adopted.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  legitimacy  of  the 
inference  will  hardly  be  questioned,  that  there  is  a 
fearful  risk  in  neglecting  this  appointment  of  our 
Lord. 

The  ungodly  parent  by  refusing  to  honour  this  Holy 
Sacrament,  refuses  to  honour  the  adorable  Trinity. 
In  despising  the  Institution,  he  despises  its  Author 
also.  The  consequences  to  his  children  none  may 
foresee.  The  bare  influence  of  this  neglect,  to  say 
nothing  more,  must  operate  most  balefully  upon  them 
in  after  years,  making  them  to  look  with  deep-rooted 
prejudice,  or  at  least,  with  heedless  indifference,  upon 
all  the  requirements  of  the  Gospel. 

"  The  uncircumcised  man-child,  shall  be  cut  off 
from  his  people;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant." 
Shall  the  unbaptized  be  more  lightly  dealt  with  ? 
Is  it  a  venial  offence  to  despise  this  holy  covenant, 
approved  by  the  Son  of  God,  and  with  a  new  seal 
commanded  to  all  people,  of  all  nations,  when  the 
same  covenant,  in  the  Jewish  Church,  could  not  be 
so  despised  without  the  most  unhappy  consequen- 
ces? 

Reflect,  ungodly  parent! — upon  what  you  are 
doing,  by  withholding  your  children  from  Christian 


64  BAPTISMAL 

Baptism !  You  determine  that,  so  long  as  you 
can  effect  it,  they  shall  have  no  part  nor  lot  with 
the  people  of  God  !  You  exclude  them  from  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Christian  Church  !  You 
manifest  a  decided  unwilUngness  that  they  should 
become,  in  any  sense  whatever,  members  of  the 
family  of  Christ;— a  preference  that  they  should  live 
as  heathen  !  You  cut  them  off  from  the  blessings  of 
the  Gospel  !  You  deny  the  debt  of  love  and  of  obe- 
dience which  they  owe  to  God !  You  close  with 
your  own  hand,  one  great  channel  of  mercy,  against 
their  souls !  You  exclude  them  from  the  favour  of 
God  ;  from  all  interest,  in  the  atoning  sacrifice  of 
Christ ;  and  from  all  the  blessings,  conferred  by  the 
Holy  Ghost ! 

Such  is  the  cruelty  of  that  parent  who  deliberately 
and  in  opposition  to  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  refuses 
to  bring  his  child  to  holy  Baptism. 

But,  although  compelled  to  anticipate  the  most 
melancholy  results,  from  such  disregard  of  this  Insti- 
tution of  our  religion,  it  must,  nevertheless,  be  ad- 
mitted, that  there  are  cases  in  which  the  unbaptized 
stand  acquitted  of  every  charge  of  guilt,  and  conse- 
quently, possessing  the  other  essential  requisites,  may 
be  assured  of  the  favour  of  God.  The  Church  Cate- 
chism says  :  not  that  Baptism  is  absolutely  and  es- 
sentially, but  "  generally  necessary  to  salvation." 
There  may  be  a  pardonable  ignorance  of  the  duty, 
such  as  we  find  among  the  illiterate,  and  others  who 
are  without  the  means  of  searching  the  Word  of 


OBLIGATIONS.  63 

God,  and  among  others,  again,  who  are  living  in 
places  destitute  of  the  ministrations  of  the  Gospel. 
But,  let  it  be  remembered,  that  ignorance  with  its 
fruits,  ceases  to  be  venial  when  the  means  of  infor- 
mation are  wuthin  our  reach.  Or  there  may  be  un- 
avoidable circumstances,  debarring  the  individual 
from  the  holy  ordinance.  These,  an  all-m.erciful 
God  will  not  permit  to  hinder  the  exercise  of  his 
love,  to  limit  the  workings  of  his  grace,  nor  to  ob- 
struct the  salvation  of  a  repenting  and  believing 
sinner.  We  have  no  reason  for  believing  that  either 
Shem,  Melchizedeck  or  Lot  were  circumcised,  nor 
have  we  any  positive  grounds  for  believing  the  thief 
upon  the  cross  to  have  been  baptized,  and  yet  all  of 
them,  believing  in  the  Son  of  God,  were  saved* 

If,  however,  the  venial  rejection  of  Baptism  is  to 
be  confined  to  the  two  cases,  just  now  mentioned,  it 
behoves  the  tender  parent  well  to  weigh  the  reasons 
on  which  he  rejects  it;  for  let  him  rest  assured  that, 
if  it  be  not  a  calm,  deliberate  and  conscientious  act 
on  his  part,  he  jeopardizes  the  best  interests  of  himself 
and  his  children  by  doing  so. 

But  for  those,  upon  whose  brow  the  seal  of  the 
covenant  has  been  placed,  what  rich  and  confident 
hopes  may  we  cherish,— hopes  for  their  conversion  to 
God,---hopes  for  their  victory  over  the  world, — hopes 
for  their  salvation  1  And  what  abundant  cause  for 
gratitude  is  theirs !  Invested  with  these  high  privi- 
leges ; — sweetly  wooed  to  the  Saviour's  arms  by  such 
animating  pledges  of  acceptance  ;-^assured  so  posi- 


66  BAPTISMAL 

tively  of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; — their  hopes 
of  eternal  life,  grounded  upon  such  strong  security, 
enviable,  indeed,  does  their  lot  become  ! 

It  is  with  nnarked  propriety  that  the  Church  calls 
upon  the  great  congregation  in  two  distinct  parts  of 
the  Baptismal  Service,  before  and  after  the  adminis- 
tration, "  faithfully  and  devoutly"  "  to  give  thanks 
unto  Almighty  God  for  these  benefits,"  conferred  upon 
the  young  disciple;  and  it  is  in  view  of  all  these,  the 
distinctive  honours  and  privileges  of  Baptism,  "  and 
the  promises  of  God  made  to  him  in  that  sacrament," 
that  she  teaches  her  young  disciple,  also,  the  lesson 
of  holy  gratitude, — "  And  I  heartily  thank  our 
heavenly  Father  that  he  hath  called  me  to  this 
state  of  salvation." 


OBLIGATIONS.  67 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    SPONSORIAL    OFFICEi 

Is  the  Church,  whose  faith  and  worship  we  have 
adopted,  there  is  an  office,  so  interesting  in  its 
nature  ;  so  serious  in  its  responsibilities,  but  by  many, 
so  lightly  esteemed,  that  it  appears  to  demand  more 
than  a  passing  notice.  I  refer  to  that  of  Sponsors 
in  Baptism. 

The  motives  which  first  led  to  the  appointment  of 
this  office,  were  founded  upon  a  wise  and  provident 
regard  for  the  purity  of  the  Church  and  the  ever- 
lasting welfare  of  her  disciples.  Hitherto,  it  had 
been  customary  for  parents  to  act  as  the  Sponsors 
of  their  children.  Whatever  obligations  for  their 
religious  instruction,  were  contracted  in  Baptism, 
were  contracted  by  the  parents,— whatever  respon- 
sibilities were  assumed  on  their  behalf,  were  assumed 
by  those,  whom  nature  had  appointed  their  proper 
guardians.  But  after  a  time,  the  Church  began^ 
more  seriously  to  consider,  whether  a  wiser  expe- 
dient might  not  be  adopted,  in  order  to  secure  the 
proper  training  of  her  young  members.  She  began 
to  reflect,  that  parents,  by  the  ties  of  affinity,  were 
6 


68  BAPTISMAL 

already  obligated  for  the  religious  education  of  their 
children.  She,  therefore,  determined  to  call  in  other 
suitable  persons,  upon  whom  no  such  responsibility 
rested,  and  upon  whom,  the  child  had  no  such 
natural  claim ;  thus  obtaining  much  stronger  se- 
curity for  the  accomplishment  of  its  religious  instruc- 
tion, than  by  simply  enhancing  the  obligations  of  its 
parent. 

Herein,  the  American,  differs  from  the  English 
Church.  In  the  latter,  the  ancient  practice  of  re- 
quiring Godfathers  and  Godmothers  is  still  adhered 
to; — while  in  the  former,  parents,  "if  it  be  de- 
sired," are  admitted  as  sponsors  for  their  children. 
If  faithful  and  conscientious  persons  can  be  found, 
who  will  consent  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  this 
sacred  and  truly  Christian  office,  we  may  cherish 
stronger  hopes  that,  nothing  pertaining  to  the  child's 
eternal  welfare,  will  be  neglected  ; — and,  with  surer 
confidence  may  we  anticipate  the  day,  when  the 
Church  shall  possess  in  him,  a  faithful,  consistent  and 
devoted  member;  and  the  holy  Saviour,  a  bold  and 
valiant  soldier  of  his  Cross. 

All-sacred  and  binding,  as  are  the  duties,  growing 
out  of  the  parental  relationship,  w^e  must  believe 
them  to  be  made  more  sacred  and  more  binding,  by 
the  obligations  of  the  Baptismal  Sacrament.  Never- 
theless, it  is  decidedly  preferable,  that  another  should 
enter  into  those  obligations, — and  the  parent,  if 
conscientious  and  believing,  will  be  sufficiently  ani- 
mated to  the  discharge  of  his  sacred  duties,  by  the 


OBLIGATIONS.  69 

kindred  tie  which  unites  him  to  his  child.  As,  in 
mercantile  transactions,  the  creditor  requires  the 
name  of  an  endorser  upon  a  bond,  that  the  payment 
of  the  debt,  may,  by  this  additional  security,  be  made 
more  sure ;  so,  in  securing  the  proper  education  of 
the  children  of  the  Church,  it  is  altogether  desirable 
that,  others  should  obligate  themselves  to  impart  it, 
in  case  the  parent  should  fail ;  or  by  the  unseen  ac- 
cidents of  life;  or  otherwise,  be  prevented  from  dis- 
charging his  duty. 

This  was  the  simple  and  wise  provision,  intended 
in  the  appointment  of  this  ofnce.  Let  it  not,  there- 
fore, be  imagined,  when  a  sponsor  binds  himself  for 
the  religious  training  of  a  child,  that  the  parentneed 
have  no  further  concern  about  it.  A  conscience, 
thus  easily  pacified;  parental  sohcitude  thus  easily 
made  to  slumber,  can  find  no  place  in  the  bosom  of 
him  who  regards  his  child,  as  destined  to  an  immor- 
tality of  misery  or  glory.  But,  lest  the  error  be  em- 
braced in  good  faith,  it  should  be  remembered  that, 
sponsors  are  not  admitted  to  encourage  parental  ne- 
glect, nor  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  parental  in- 
struction. There  can  be  no  justification  for  the 
one, — no  release  from  the  other.  The  parent  can 
resort  to  no  expedient  by  which  to  extricate  himself 
from  those  obligations  to  his  child,  which  nature  and 
nature's  God  have  laid  upon  him.  Were  an  hundred 
sponsors  to  pledge  themselves  for  its  religious  educa- 
tion, that  would  not  in  the  smallest  degree  affect  his 
duty,  as  a  parent,  nor  exonerate  him  from  the  faith- 


70  BAPTISMAL 

ful  discharge  of  it.  The  burden  of  his  responsibili- 
ties may  be  augmented,  and  he  may  be  laid  under 
additio7ial  oh\\^d.iions  to  his  child;  but  no  considera- 
tions whatever  can  diminish  the  one,  nor  detract  from 
the  weighty  import  of  the  other. 

In  the  sponsorial  office,  therefore,  he  can  find  no 
apolojry  for  any,  the  least  neglect ;  no  justification  for 
any  unconcern  respecting  these,  the  most  important 
of  all  his  parental  duties. 

With  the  same  degree  of  plausi'jility  might  a 
debtor  reason  himself  out  of  all  obligation  for  the 
amount  of  his  bond,  on  the  ground  that  the  name  of 
his  endorser  was  appended  to  it. 

The  very  language  of  the  Church,  in  addressing 
the  sponsor,  implies  that  the  religious  training  of  her 
young  member  is  expected  at  the  hands  of  his  pa- 
rents, and  at  the  hands  of  the  sponsor  only  in  case 
of  their  neglect,  ''Ye  are  to  see  that  this  infant  be 
taught,"  &c.  There  is  no  delegation  of  the  work  of 
religious  training  here.  It  rests  upon  the  parents, 
and  they  cannot  transfer  it  to  others. 

It  is  a  question,  the  responsibility  of  the  decision 
of  which  I  do  not  wish  to  assume,  and  yet  too  im- 
portant to  be  overlooked,  how  far,  in  case  of  parental 
neglect,  the  obligations  of  a  sponsor  extend,  and 
when  they  may  be  said  to  have  been  faithfully  dis- 
charged ? 

Whatever  means  are  calculated  to  advance  the 
spiritual  interests  of  his  godchild,  he  is  bound  to  em- 
ploy, and  to  avert,  if  it  be  in  his  power,  whatever 


OBLIGATIONS,  -^l 

might  prove  detrimental.  In  other  words,  he  must 
put  forth  every  endeavour  to  induce  him,  at  a  pro- 
per age,  from  a  proper  motive,  and  in  a  proper 
manner,  to  ratify  and  confirm  his  baptismal  vows. 
This  embraces  the  whole  range  of  his  responsibili- 
ties. But  the  point  at  which  the  question  presents 
the  difficulty,  is  the  degree  of  auth<5rity  which  right- 
fully belongs  to  this  office.  In  things  of  a  temporal 
nature,  he  has  no  right  to  interfere,  unless  it  be  in 
cases,  in  which  he  believes  their  tendency  to  be  for 
good  or  evil,  and  then  it  may  become  his  duty  to  ad- 
vise accordingly.  Many  such  things  will  present 
themselves  to  the  eye  of  the  conscientious  sponsor, 
and  wherever  there  is  the  most  remote  probability, 
that  they  will  prove  injurious  or  beneficial  to  the 
growth  of  heavenly  virtue  in  the  soul,  he  should,  by 
dint  of  unwearied  perseverance,  and  affectionate  en- 
treaty, endeavour  to  obstruct  or  advance  them  as 
the  case  may  be. 

We  doubt  not,  but  such  interference  of  the  sponsor 
will  oft-times  be  deemed  officious,  and  oft-times  it 
may  in  reality  be  so;  but  whenever  a  course  of  con^ 
duct  is  about  to  be  adopted,  in  relation  to  the  young 
disciple,  which  has  any  bearing  upon  his  eternal 
welfare,  interference,  so  far  from  being  officious,  be- 
comes a  bounden  duty.  There  are  many  things  of 
a  temporal  nature,  pleasures,  occupations,  reading, 
company,  the  baleful  influence  of  which  may  be 
disputed.  All  that  the  faithful  sponsor  can  then  do, 
is  to  use  every  persuasion  by  which  to  change  the 
views  and  intentions  of  the  parent.     Frequently,  in 

6^ 


72  BAPTISMAL 

the  discharge  of  his  duty,  this  clashing  of  opinioa 
may  occur,  and  he  may  frequently  be  perplexed 
with  doubts,  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  ;  but, 
guided  by  a  deep  sense  of  his  responsibilities,  and  a 
small  share  of  Christian  prudence,  aided,  also,  and 
directed  by  his  heavenly  counsellor ;  no  fear  but  he 
will  do  that  which  is  right,  and  which  conscience 
wiill  approve. 

But  doubtful  as  he  may  often  be,  unnumbered  in- 
stances will  come  before  him,  in  which  his  course  is 
plain  as  if  'twere  written  with  a  sunbeam.  When- 
ever there  is  a  palpable  neglect  of  duty,  or  a  de- 
parture from  the  path  of  moral  rectitude,  he  should 
step  in  to  chide  the  one,  or  to  reprove  the  other. 
Absence  from  the  house  of  God  ;  a  violation  of  His 
Sabbath ;  neglect  of  His  holy  Word  ;  a  vain  or  idle 
utterance  of  His  holy  name,  are  all  things,  over 
which  the  conscientious  sponsor  will  keep  a  watchful 
eye,  impelled  to  such  a  vigilant  regard,  by  the  whole 
burden  of  his  obligations.  To  eVery  thing  else,  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  soul's  best  interests,  his 
cognizance  must  extend ;  and  by  all  those  touching 
considerations,  with  which  his  anxious  solicitude  will 
supply  him,  will  he  endeavour  to  wean  his  sacred 
charge  from  the  paths  of  folly,  and  win  him  to  the 
ways  of  true  religion. 

Too  many  are  there,  among  the  ungodly,  who 
fear  not  rashly  to  contract  these  sacred  obligations. 
Ignorant  of  the  duties,  inseparately  linked  with  this 
interesting  office,  and  blind  to  all  the  momentous  in- 


OBLIGATIONS.  73 

terests  which  it  was  designed  to  advance,  they  have 
gone  to  the  Baptismal  font;  laid  the  most  sacred 
vows  upon  their  godchildren,  and  returned  to  their 
homes  listless  and  unconcerned;  with  hearts,  unaf- 
fected by  the  solemnity  of  the  deed  in  which  they 
had  participated,  and  altogether  unprepared,  by  any 
seriousness  of  feeling,  for  meeting  the  responsibili- 
ties which  they  had  then  assumed.  A  few  years 
rolled  by.  The  children  of  Christ's  flock  had  al- 
ready passed  the  line,  which  separates  the  days  of 
unconscious  infancy  from  the  time  at  which  they 
were  '''able  to  learn^^  Were  they  instructed  in 
holy  things?  Were  they  told  "  what  a  solemn  vow, 
promise  and  profession,"  was  made  in  their  names 
at  their  baptism  ?  '^^v^  they  taught  the  necessity 
of  faith  in  a  crucified  Redeemer  ?  No.  Blind  to 
the  light  of  eternal  Truth,  they  must  have  lived  and 
died,  so  far  as  it  depended  upon  their  sponsors  to  com- 
municate it.  No  godly  instruction  was  imparted-*-^ 
no  fervent  supplications  offered  at  a  throne  of  grace. 
The  children  of  the  Church  have  learned  no  lessons 
of  goodness  in  their  sponsor's  lives  ;  nor  from  their 
lips  have  they  ever  heard  of  their  sacramental  obli- 
gations, to  devote  themselves  to  Jesus  Christ.  Faith- 
less godparents  !  Miserable  security  theirs  !  Un- 
godly themselves,  they  knew  not  how  to  teach  god- 
liness to  others.  Insensible  themselves  to  the  vast 
importance  of  eternal  things,  they  had  no  eloquence 
by  which  to  make  others  sensible  of  it.  So  that  they 
not  only  undertook  what  they  never  intended^  but 
v^ere  altogether  incomj^etent  to  perform. 


74  BAPTISMAL 

Were  the  serious  responsibilities  resting  upon 
those  who  enter  into  the  sponsorial  relationship  pro- 
perly understood  ;  were  they  viewed  in  all  their 
magnitude,  and  comprehended  in  all  their  momen- 
tous bearings,  few  would  be  found  bold  enough  thus 
to  desecrate  this  sacred  office.  The  most  reckless 
would  shrink  from  taking  part  in  such  a  solemn 
transaction.  His  arm  would  be  palsied,  ere  it  were 
put  forth  to  such  an  act  of  bold  hypocrisy.  His 
tongue  would  cleave  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  ere  it 
mocked  the  majesty  of  heaven,  by  giving  utterance 
to  a  baptismal  prayer. 

Ungodly  Sponsor  !  reflect  upon  what  you  have 
done!  You  have  baptized  your  godchild  into  a 
profession,  which,  all  your  life  long,  you  have  dis- 
carded, and  in  God's  holy  temple  did  you  avow 
what,  by  your  irreligion  you  have  emphatically  dis- 
avowed. You  have  publicly  given  your  godchild 
to  the  Almighty,  and  have  decidedly  refused  to  give 
yourself.  You  have  laid  upon  him  the  most  sacred 
obligations  to  renounce  what  you  never  did  re- 
nounce; to  believe  what  you  never  did  believe,  and 
to  do  what  you  never  have  done. 

But  why  need  I  dwell  upon  such  mockery  of 
heaven,  or  upon  the  contempt  thrown  upon  this  holy 
ordinance  by  your  ov\n  hand.  The  heart  which 
could  not  be  aifected  by  the  deep  solemnity  of  its  ad- 
ministration, would  hardly  be  made  to  feel  by  any 
exhibition  of  the  guilt  it  then  contracted. 

But  whilst  such  a  rash  participation  in  this  holy 
ceremony  is  decided!}^  censurable,  the  opposite  error 


OBLIGATIONS.  75 

must  be  carefully  avoided.  The  conscientious 
Christian  may  err,  in  refusing  to  undertake  the  du- 
ties of  the  sponsorial  relationship.  Viewing  them  in 
all  their  magnitude,  and  fully  aware  of  the  obstacles 
to  be  encountered  in  the  discharge  of  them,  he  may 
be  disposed  to  shrink  from  the  task.  Oft-times,  in- 
deed, he  may  be  actuated  by  natives  of  Christian 
*prudence,  and  a  well-grounded  apprehension  of  the 
utter  impracticability  of  doing  a  sponsor's  part. 

In  such  cases,  we  should  deem  him  prudent  in  de- 
clinirjg  the  office  ;  but  it  is  very  questionable,  whe- 
ther, in  any  others,  he  is  justifiable  in  doing  so.  For 
the  good  of  the  Church ;  for  the  preservation  of  her 
purity ;  for  the  welfare  of  an  immortal  soul,  and  for 
the  honour  of  the  Sacrament,  it  may  become  his 
duty  to  enter  into  these  obligations.  If  they  be  se- 
rious and  sacred,  the  greater  reason  why  a  faithful 
Christian  should  consent  to  assume  them.  Should 
the  parent  be  true  to  his  own  high  trust,  and  train 
up  his  "  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,"  why,  then 
the  sponsor  may  congratulate  himself,  that  he  is  re- 
lieved from  such  an  arduous  task.  But  if  that  little 
child  should  not  have  pious  parents  to  tell  him  of  the 
love  of  a  Saviour,  and  the  method  of  salvation 
through  his  blood,  O,  would  it  not  be  cruel  to  shrink 
from  undertaking  the  charitable  work  of  teaching 
him  these  heavenly  truths  ?  And  what  if  you  should 
be  successful !  O,  how  pleasing  the  reflection  which 
would  follow  you  through  the  ages  of  eternity,  that 
you  had  been  the  honoured  instrument  of  turning 


76  BAPTISMAL 

one  lost  sinner  to  righteousness !  There  is  a  peculiar 
distinction  in  reserve  for  such,  "  They  shall  shine  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever."  But  what  if  you 
should  fail?  You  have  striven  to  win  your  god- 
child to  the  cross  of  the  Redeemer ;  you  have  con- 
tended with  difficulties,  and  have  laboured  persever- 
ingly  for  the  accomplishment  of  your  object ;  but 
all  your  exertions  have  been  unavailing.  What 
then?  You  have  met  your  sponsorial  obligations, 
and  an  approving  conscience  may  be  yours.  You 
have  done  what  you  could;  an  angel  could  do  no 
more. 

Nevertheless,  before  you  consent  to  assume  the 
responsibihly  of  a  sponsor  in  Baptism,  it  behoves 
you  to  weigh  the  matter  well.  There  are  too  many 
solemn  and  sacred  considerations  involved  to  admit 
of  a  hasty  or  thoughtless  assumption  of  these  obli- 
gations. 

In  relation  to  yourself,  there  are  many  things  to 
be  considered,  which  miglit  render  it  impossible  for 
you  to  meet  them.  The  place  of  your  abode  may 
probably  be  changed.  Children  of  your  own  may 
possibly  demand  all  your  time.  Your  bodily  health 
may  interpose  another  obstacle  ;  and  thus,  you  may 
clearly  foresee  that  the  alternative  will  be  denied 
you,  either  of  seeing  the  child  religiously  educated 
by  its  parents,  or  of  doing  it  yourself.  But,  if  no 
real  impediment  exist,  and  whether  there  do  or  not, 
must  be  left  to  the  decision  of  your  own  conscience, 
then  we  conceive   it  to  be   the  part  of  Christian 


4  OBLIGATIONS.  77 

kindness   and  sympathy  to  undertake   the  sacred 
charge. 

But  let  there  be  a  perfect  understanding  with  the 
parents  of  the  child,  especially  if  they  be  not  pro- 
fessed Christians,  for  in  that  case,  there  is  a  strong 
probability  of  the  work  of  religious  culture  devolv- 
ing upon  yourself.  Will  you  oppose  or  hinder  me, 
in  training  up  your  child,  as  a  soldier  of  the  cross? 
Will  you  consent  that  I  shall  do  all  in  my  power  to 
withdraw  his  affections  from  the  idle  and  frivolous 
pleasures  of  the  world,  and  from  the  company  of 
wicked  associates  ?  Is  it  your  desire  that  he  should 
live  as  becomes  the  Christian  profession,  and  will 
you  agree  that  I  shall  teach  and  persuade  him  so  to 
do  ?  These  are  questions,  which  you  should  have 
clearly  answered,  before  consenting  to  act  as  sponsor 
for  any  child.  Give  the  parents  perfectly  to  under- 
stand your  views  of  the  nature  and  force  of  these 
obligations,  that  they  are  laid  upon  you,  in  order  to 
secure  the  proper  training  of  the  young  members  of 
Christ's  flock,  that  the  Church  expects  that  training 
first,  at  their  hands,  but,  in  case  of  their  neglect,  at 
your  own. 

He  who  is  not  utterly  blind  to  the  importance  of 
eternal  things,  nor  morbidly  tenacious  of  his  parental 
authority,  will  easily  comprehend  your  motive,  and 
gladly  consent  to  abet  you,  in  the  performance  of 
your  sponsorial  duties. 

It  will  have  been  observed  from  what  has  now 
been   said,   that    the   sponsor    in    Baptism    stands 


rs  BAPTISMAL 

pledged  for  two  distinct  parties,  the  parent  and  the 
child ;  for  two  distinct  objects,  the  religious  educa- 
tion of  the  young  disciple,  and  for  his  confirmation  at 
a  proper  age  of  his  baptismal  vows.  This  view  of 
his  office  may  enable  him  more  clearly  to  perceive 
the  nature  of  its  duties,  and  the  considerations  which 
impose  them. 


OBLIGATIONS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OBJECTIONS  URGED  AGAINST  BRINGING  LITTLE  CHILDREN 
INTO  THE  COVENANT  OF  BAPTISM  :  THE  PARENt's 
RIGHT  SO  TO  DO. 

Objections,  it  is  well  known,  have  been  raised 
against  bringing  young  children  into  the  Baptismal 
Compact.     We  notice  some  of  the  most  plausible. 

It  is  urged  by  some  that,  "  they  cannot  make  such 
a  solemn  vow,  because  there  is  a  feaiful  risk  of  its 
being  broken  and  of  their  thus  contracting  the  guilt 
of  perjury  and  its  consequences." 

In  answer  to  this  we  observe  that  the  sponsor 
makes  no  promise  nor  vow  for  himself. 

What  he  does,  is  on  behalf  of  his  godchild.  He 
lays  upon  hbn  the  vow.  He  promises,  "  in  the  name 
of  this  child,"  that  he  shall  renounce,  &.c.  His  is 
the  guilt,  and  his  the  loss,  if  the  vow  be  broken. 
True,  there  are  weighty  obligations  pressing  uport 
the  sponsor  ;  but  they  are  not  the  obligations  of  a 
promise  nor  of  a  vow. 

Others  object,  that  they  undertake  what  they  can- 
not perform,  in  other  words,  that  they  undertake  au 
impossibility.-     This  objection  originates  in  an  entire 

7 


so  BAPTISMAL 

misunderstanding  of  the  nature  of  the  sponsorial  en- 
gagement. What  does  the  sponsor  in  Baptism,  un- 
dertake ?  Surely,  not  positively  and  without  fail, 
to  compel  his  godchild  to  a  ratification  of  his  early 
vows: — but  simply  to  use  every  means  to  effect  it. 
That  you  cannot  bend  his  will  into  accordance  with 
your  own,  is  readily  admitted,  but  does  that  render 
the  objection  more  valid?  You  would  hardly  urge 
this  excuse,  nor  act  upon  the  same  principle,  were 
worldly  interests  at  stake?  Without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  you  would  enter  into  an  engagement  for 
your  child,  binding  him  by  conditions,  hard  indeed, 
were  a  large  and  valuable  estate,  or  coffers  filled 
with  gold,  to  be  secured  by  the  fulfilment.  Let  U9 
imagine  such  a  case.  We  will  suppose  yourself,  and 
family,  reduced  to  abject  poverty.  A  wealthy  prince 
goes  to  your  wretched  abode  and  makes  a  kind  and 
generous  proposition.  "  I  see  the  misery  and  degra- 
dation to  which  your  child  is  born  and  am  come  to 
relieve,  enrich,  and  elevate  him.  Now  if  you  will 
engage,  on  his  behalf,  and  lay  upon  him  an  oath,  and 
sign  and  seal  it,  that  he  shall  daily  climb,  barefooted, 
for  five  successive  years,  the  steep  ascent  of  a 
neighbouring  mountain:  I  will  bind  myself,  by  a 
solemn  vow,  to  receive  him  into  my  own  family  and 
adopt  him  as  my  own  child."  Would  you,  in  such  a 
case,  begin  to  frame  excuses,  or  to  fabricate  such  ob- 
jections as  these, — Why  truly,  I  should  be  glad  for 
my  child  thus  to  be  honoured  and  enriched,  but 
really,  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  make  him  com- 


OBLIGATIONS.  81 

ply  with  the  condition  of  your  agreement.  He 
may,  at  a  riper  age,  entirely  disapprove  of  them. 
He  may,  and  probably  will,  be  utterly  averse  to  such 
exertion.  He  will  naturally  abhor  and  shrink  from 
the  labour.  Not  thus,  would  you  argue  ! — but  would 
most  gladly  accede  to  the  proposal.  And  then,  how 
would  you  proceed  with  that  child,  now  become  to 
you  an  object  of  deeper  interest  than  ever?  At 
the  earliest  dawn  of  reason,  you  would  tell  him  of 
the  great  prince,  and  his  noble  offer,  and  of  the  terms, 
on  which  it  was  to  be  obtained.  "I  know,  my 
child,  it  will  be  an  arduous  task;  painful  to  accom- 
plish !  I  know  you  are  disposed  to  decline  the  offer 
upon  terms  so  hard  !  But  consider  your  condition, — 
a  child  of  poverty  and  wretchedness ;  doomed  to  a 
life  of  misery,  ignominy,  and  want; — if  you  consent 
to  this  proposal  and  fulfil  the  vow  which  I  have  laid 
upon  you,  by  complying  with  the  terms  of  the  com- 
pact, you  will  then  be  elevated  to  comfort,  plenty 
and  honour  !  In  a  manner,  somewhat  like  this,  would 
you  plead.  But  because  you  were  unable  to  con- 
trol the  will  and  disposition  of  your  child,  and  make 
him  fulfil  the  engagement,  you  would  not,  therefore, 
refuse  to  bring  him  under  its  obligations.  Now  bring 
these  same  principles  and  feelings  to  bear  upon  the 
case  in  hand,  and  you  will  at  once  perceive,  the  in- 
validity of  the  objection  we  have  been  considering. 
But  perhaps  the  difficulty  of  securing  on  the  part 
of  your  child,  fulfilment  of  the  vows  of  Baptism, 
assumes  more  the  semblance  of  an  impossibility,  than 


82  BAPTISMAL 

in  the  case  we  have  just  been  supposing: — and  posr 
sibly  there  may  be  a  far  greater  difficulty  ; — but  then^ 
is  there  not  a  far  greater  good  to  be  secured  ?  We 
admit  that  your  own  unaided  efforts,  would  be  utter- 
ly insufficient  to  secure  in  your  godchild,  a  confir- 
mation of  his  sacramental  vows  ;= — that  the  assistance 
and  the  blessing  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  are  absolutely 
necessary,— but,  does  that  fact  render  the  objection 
more  valid?  Not  at  all:^-for  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
ready  and  altogether  willing,  to  render  the  needful 
co-operation.  He  never  has  refused,  and  he  never 
will  refuse  that  co-operation,  when  it  is  earnestly 
sought  for.  He  will  bless  the  mcL.iS  w-hich  you  em- 
ploy, and  that  blessing  is  as  a  lever  placed  in  your 
hand,  giving  you  a  power  tenfold  greater  than  that 
of  your  unaided  strength,  a  power  altogether  effec- 
tual, in  securing  the  desired  end. 

We  are  fully  aware,  that  the  Christian  sponsor 
cannot  do  every  thing,  towards  perfecting  the  work 
of  religion,  in  the  heart  of  his  godchild  ;■ — but,  bcr 
cause  he  cannot  do  all,  shall  he  therefore  engage^to 
do  nothing?  Because  his  own  unaided  arm  cannot 
compel  the  young  disciple  to  perform  the  vows  of 
Baptism,  shall  he  therefore  refuse  the  grace  of  God, 
which  will  give  strength  and  efficacy  to  his  own  exr 
£rtions? 

If  the  sponsor  be  one  of  the  parents  of  the  child, 
the  objection  from  his  lips,  is  entirely  void  of  force 
and  validity; — for,  he  here  pledges  himself  to  do 
nothing  more,  than   what  every  feeling  of  parental 


OBLIGATIONS.  83 

love,  and  every  motive  of  parental  duty,  calls  upon 
him  to  do,  w^hether  he  pledged  himself  or  not.  In 
either  case,  he  is  bound  by  most  weighty  and  momen- 
tous considerations,  to  leave  no  means  untried,  at  all 
calculated  to  bring  his  child  to  the  abjuration  of 
every  thing  sinful,  and  to  faith  in  a  crucified  Redeem- 
er. His  sponsorial  obligations  only  add  other  links, 
to  the  chain,  which  binds  him  for  the  discharge  of 
these  most  sacred  parental  duties.  The  tacit  pledge 
which  he  gives  in  Baptism,  is  additional  and  stronger 
security  extended  to  the  Church,  for  the  performance 
of  a  previous  duty. 

But  whether  the  sponsor  be  a  parent  or  not,  he  un- 
dertakes the  accomplishment  of  no  impossibility,  but 
simply  to  do  all  in  his  power,  by  religious  instruction 
and  training,  by  a  good  example  and  prayer,  to  in- 
duce the  baptized  to  comply  with  the  conditions  of  this 
holy  covenant. 

It  has  been  urged  by  others,  that  every  man  ought 
to  be  permitted  to  choose  for  himself  in  reference  to 
matters  of  religion,  and  therefore  they  will  not,  by 
forming  any  engagement  for  their  children,  deprive 
them  of  the  liberty  of  choosing  for  themselves. 

In  answer  to  this,  we  observe,  that  in  one  sense, 
even  after  the  vows  of  Baptism  are  laid  upon  them, 
it  is  perfectly  optional  with  them,  either  to  perform 
those  vows  or  not ; — but  remember,  they  must  abide 
the  consequences  of  their  choice. 

In  doubtful  matters,  or  in  matters  of  mere  opinion^ 
the  principle  upon  which  your  objection   is  based, 
7* 


fe4  BAPTISMAL 

niay  possibly  be  correct  ;^-but  where  the  truth  is 
incontrovertible  ;  where  the  course  to  be  pursued 
admits  of  no  safe  alternative ;  where  monnentous 
rconsiderationo  are  involved^  the  principle,  so  far 
from  being  correct,  and  harmless,  is  incorrect  and 
jdecidedlj  pernicious.  Were  the  religion  of  Jesus 
.Christ  of  doubtful  benefit ; — were  the  fact  of  our 
(depravity  and  enmity  to  God,  enveloped  in  the  least 
robscurity ;- — did  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  our  hea- 
venly Father,  rest  upon  a  foundation,  at  all  uncertain, 
ihen,  might  the  principle  be  applied,  w^ithout  any 
impropriety,  to  the  case  in  hand.  But  are  the  duties 
-of  the  Gospel  of  questionable  obligation ;  or  the 
salvation  of  the  Gospel  of  questionable  importance? 

Let  your  children  choose  for  themselves !  And  is 
4hat  choice  of  such  little  consequence?  0,  it  is  a 
heart  blind  to  the  truths  of  God's  holy  word;  blind 
to  the  awful  realities  of  the  eternal  world,  and  to  the 
best  interests  of  your  children,  which  actuates  you, 
in  offering  such  an  excuse  for  not  laying  upon  them 
the  vows  of  the  Baptismal  Sacrament. 

You  would  not  act  thus,  in  reference  to  affairs  of 
temporal  concern.  You  would  have  no  hesitation 
in  imposing  upon  your  children,,  by  oath,  the  most 
.onerous  duties,  in  order  to  advance  their  worldly  in- 
terests. 

Let  them  choose  for  themselves !  And  suppose 
they  should  be  at  liberty  to  do  so;  what  a  strange 
l^eart,  and  what  a  perverted  judgment  must  that 
^areut  baye^  who  should  reserve  for  his  children  this 


OBI^IGATIONS.  S^ 

ignoble  privilege  !  Eeserye  for  them  the  privilege 
of  loving  and  practising  sins  against  their  Maker  and 
their  God  !  Reserve  for  them  the  privilege  of  blas- 
pheming their  heavenly  Father's  name,  of  violating 
His  Sabbaths.;  of  doing  despite  to  His  Law  !  R.e- 
serve  for  them  the  privilege  Qf  reviling  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  of  counting  the  blood  of  his  cross  an  un- 
holy thing  !  If  that  be  your  determination,  alas  !  for 
the  choice  which  your  children  will  make  ! 

But  perhaps  this  same  excuse  comes  clothed  in 
other  words,-^"  I  have  no  right  to  bind  the  conscience 
of  my  child,  by  laying  any  religious  obligation  upon 
Lim.'*  If  so,  then  you  intend  to  let  him  choose  for 
himself,  and  thus  become  chargeable  with  that 
-wretched  mode  of  acting,  which  has  just  been  ex- 
4)0sed. 

But,  in  answer  to  this  it  may  further  be  observed, 
-that  the  Christian  parent  may  as  rightfully  obligate 
liis  child  as  the  Jewish  parent,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, and  for  a  similar  purpose  ;  and  we  know  that 
the  latter  did  so,  under  the  immediate  sanction  of  the 
Almighty,  and  in  obedience  to  His  express  command. 
"  Ye  stand  this  day,  all  of  you,  before  the  Lord .; 
your  captains  of  your  tribes,  your  elders,  and  your 
officers,  with  all  the  men  of  Israel — your  Ulfle  o?ies, 
your  wives,  and  the  stranger  that  is  in  thy  camp, 
from  the  hewer  of  thy  wood  unto  the  drawer  of  thy 
water  :  that  thou  shouldest  enter  into  covenant  ^vith 
the  Lord  thy  God,  and  into  his  oath  which  the  I^ord 
thy  God  maketh  with  thee  this  day."  (Deut.  xxix. 
10,  i2.)     The  Scripture  w^arrant,  then,  places  the 


86  BAPTISMAL 

parent's  right  in  this  matter,  beyond  the  reach  of  a 
denial. 

The  falsity  of  the  objection  may  still  further  be 
made  to  appear  from  the  fact,  that  the  sacramental 
oath  simply  obligates  the  child  for  the  performance 
of  a  previous  duty.  It  is  not  the  vow  of  Baptism 
which  lays  that  duty  upon  him.  Faith  and  obedi- 
ence are  incumbent,  independently  of  this  vow.  How 
applicable  are  the  words  of  a  celebrated  jurist 
here : — "  Besides  these  express  engagements,"  says 
he,  speaking  upon  a  subject,  which  may  well  serve 
as  an  illustration  of  that  now  before  us,  'Uhe  Law 
also  holds  that  there  is  an  implied,  original  and  vir- 
tual allegiance,  owing  from  every  subject  to  his  sove- 
reign, antecedently  to  any  express  promise;  and  al- 
though the  subject  never  swore  any  faith  or  allegi- 
ance in  form."*  The  oath  of  Baptism  is  given  for  the 
same  purpose,  that  the  oath  of  allegiance  is,  "  to  re- 
mind the  subject  of  this,  his  previous  duty,  and  for 
the  better  securing  its  performance."t  Under  the 
firm  conviction,  then,  that  the  act  is  approved  by 
reason,  and  sanctioned  by  the  word  of  God,  you  may 
take  your  child  to  the  sacred  font,  and  lay  upon  him 
there  the  holy  vows  of  the  Baptismal  Covenant.  Re- 
member that,  withholding  your  child  from  the  sacra- 
ment, you  tacitly  refuse  to  acknowledge  the  debt 
due  from  him  to  Almighty  God,  and  deny  him  to  be 
under  any  obligation  whatever  to  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  obey  his  gospel. 

*  Blackstone's  Comment.  B.  I. Chap  10.  f  Ibid. 


OSLTGATION^S.  sy 


CHAPTER  Vll. 

THE  DUTIES  OF  SPONSORS  :   MEANS  TO  BE  E>i;PLOYED  :    OBLL- 
GATIONS   OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  solemn  obligations  assumed  by  the  sponsor 
in  this  interesting  Sacrament  have  already  been 
briefly  shown  to  require  at  his  hands  the  application 
of  every  means  in  his  power,  calculated  to  lead  his 
godchild  to  faith  in  Christ.  The  importance  of  the 
subject  demands  more  extended  consideration.  And 
here  we  beg  that  one  fact  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
sponsorial  responsibilities  press  with  equal  force  upon 
all  who  have  assumed  them. 

The  Christian  friend  and  the  parent  here  stand  in 
4he  same  relation  to  the  child  ;  bound  for  the  same 
duties,  and  impelled  by  the  same  considerations. 

What  then  are  the  most  important  means,  which 
-the  faithful  sponsor  is  bound  to  employ  ?  The  cjrand 
object  to  be  accomplished  is  to  induce  the  young 
baptized,  at  the  proper  age,  to  ratify  and  confirm 
his  sacramental  vows.  Most  true,  it  is,  no  human 
power  can  compel  him  ;  no  mortal  energy  can 
xhange  the  heart;  no  alcheny  of  ours  convert  it  into 


88  BAPTISMAL 

a  golden  censer,  to  be  waived  before  the  altar  of 
God,  burning  with  the  incense  of  faith  and  love. 
How,  then,  shall  the  sponsor  act  ?  What  means  do 
most  surely  promise  an  accomplishment  of  the  de- 
sired end  ?" 

The  infant,  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  reason, — "  so 
soon  as  he  shall  be  able  to  learn,"  must  be  made  to 
know  "  what  a  solemn  vow,  promise  and  profession 
he  hath  made  by  you."  Of  this  time,  you  must, 
yourself  be  the  judge, — but  whenever  it  shall  have 
arrived,  then,  your  sponsorial  obligations  call  you  to 
the  blessed  work.  No  time,  no  labour,  no  exertion 
should  be  spared,  to  make  the  young  disciple  feel  the 
responsibilities  of  his  baptism,  the  solemn  importance 
of  his  covenant-engagements,  and  the  sacredness  of 
the  vow  which  binds  him.  They  should  be  enforced, 
by  all  those  touching  considerations,  to  which  the 
young  heart  is  so  keenly  sensible.  The  motives 
which  actuated  you,  to  lay  the  vows  of  baptism 
upon  him,  should  be  clearly  explained ;  the  rich 
blessing  to  be  secured,  should  be  constantly  present- 
ed, and  the  conditions  of  the  covenant  deeply  en- 
graved upon  his  memory.  To  the  promise  of  God, 
he  should  be  frequently  directed,  and  the  condescend- 
ing love  which  moved  Him  to  institute  the  sacra- 
ment, should  be  pictured  in  all  its  rich  and  overflow- 
ing fulness.  The  obligations  growing  out  of  his 
Baptism,  should  be  pressed  home  upon  the  conscience, 
and   his  enviable  distinctions,  and  invaluable  privi- 


OBLIGATIONS.  89 

leges,  called  in,  to  aid  your  exertions  by  their  ani- 
mating encouragements.* 

Not  only  as  baptismal  duties,  but  as  plain  Gospel 
requirements,  the  conditions  of  the  covenant  should 
be  urged  upon  him,  and  a  refusal  to  fulfil  them, 
should  be  shown  to  involve  him,  not  only  in  the  guilt 
of  a  broken  vow,  and  of  vile  ingratitude,  but  in  the 
misery  of  eternal  ruin. 

By  argument  and  affectionate  entreaty,  the  con- 
scientious sponsor,  will  persuade  his  godchild  to  "  re- 
nounce the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the  vain  pomp 
and  glory  of  the  world,  with  all  covetous  desires  of 
the  same,  and  the  sinful  desires  of  the  flesh."  He 
will  tell  him  how  these  things  steal  away  the  heart 
from  God,  and  "war  against  the  soul."  He  will 
teach  him  to  regard  all  earthly  things,  as  valuable 
only  so  far  as  they  enable  him  to  glorify  God,  and  to 
look  upon  every  thing  conflicting  with  this,  as  sinful 
and  destructive.  He  will  show  him  the  reasonable- 
ness of  renouncing  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil, 
with  all  their  works  and  all  their  sinful  suggestions  ; 
will  teach  him  how  hateful  they  are  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  how  tremendous  are  the  woes,  denoun- 
ced against  them. 

With  equal  assiduity  he  will  endeavour  to  impress 
his  godchild  with  the  necessity  of  believing  in  Christ, 
and  the  way  in  which  that  belief  is  to  save  him. 

*  The  ground-work  of  such  instruction  may  be  found  in  that 
part  of  this  little  work  addressed  to  the  baptized. 


90  BAPTISMAL' 

Faith,  in  its  nature  ;  in  its  workings  on  the  heart  j  irf 
its  effects  upon  the  life,  will  be  fully  and  forcibly  ex- 
plained. He  will  be  taught  to  regard  all  the  fan- 
cied purity  of  his  heart  as  filthy  rags,  and  all  the  best 
actions  of  his  life  as  utterly  defective  in  the  sight  of 
God,  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  the  spotless  robes  of 
the  Redeemer's  righteousness  will  be  shown  to  be  al- 
together sufficient  for  his  acceptance  with  God. 

This  faithful  instruction  must  be  enforced  by  the 
example  of  a  holy  life  and  conversation.  Diligence,' 
the  most  unwearied  in  imparting  religious  truths,  and 
eloquence,  the  most  persuasive,  in  enforcing  them, 
will  be  altogether  ineffectual,  if  there  be  ungodli- 
ness in  your  daily  life. 

To  teach  religion  with  your  tongue,  and  irreligion 
by  your  life,  is,  with  your  left  hand,  attempting  ta 
unloose  the  fetters  of  sin^  whilst,  with  your  right, 
3^ou  are  rivetting  them  upon  his  heart.  Example  is 
always  more  powerful  than  precept ;  and  the  sound- 
est logic,  with  the  purest  rhetoric,  and  the  most  im- 
portunate entreaties  of  a  parent,  will  be  as  inef- 
fectual as  the  sounding  of  brass,  or  the  tinkling  of  a 
cymbal,  so  long  as  his  child  can  look  to  a  solitary  in- 
stance, in  which  his  example  inculcated  a  ditlcrent 
lesson.  The  heart  is  prone  to  sin,  and  eager  to  seize 
upon  every  little  circumstance,  by  which  to  justify 
the  evil  it  would  pursue,  and  far  more  substantial 
and  valid  will  that  justification  be  deemed,  if  any 
such  circumstance  can  be  found  in  his  parent's  life  or 
conversation. 


OBLIGATIONS.  91 

If,  then,  your  godchildren,  be  they  your  offspring 
or  not,  see  that  you  do  not  renounce  all  that  bap- 
tism forbids,  and  perform  all  that  it  enjoins,  idle  and 
vain  will  your  instructions  be  !  Your  advice,  your 
warnings,  your  tenderest  appeals,  will  be  more  empty 
than  ''  the  babbling  of  men  filled  with  new  wine.'' 
If  they  see  that  you  love  the  world  ;  that  you  delight 
in  its  pleasures  ;  that  you  truckle  for  its  favour,  that 
you  admire  its  distinctions,  and  with  ambitious  ar- 
dour struggle  for  its  gold ;  never,  O  never  expect  to 
make  them  disregard  the  distinction,  the  favour,  the 
pleasures,  nor  the  riches  of  the  world  ! 

If  you  adhere  to  practices,  at  variance  with  the 
purity  of  the  Christian  character,  never  cherish  the 
hope  that  they  will  renounce  them !  V^ain  will  be 
your  endeavours  to  make  them  "  believe  all  the  ar- 
ticles of  the  Christian  faith,"  if  they  perceive  in 
yourself  the  slightest  evidence  of  unbelief.  Insepa- 
rable difficulties  will  oppose  you,  in  attempting  to 
make  them  feel  their  need  of  a  Saviour,  if  they  see 
that  you  reject  him :  to  make  them  "  keep  God's  holy 
will  and  commandments,  and  walk  in  the  same,"  if 
you  neither  keep,  nor  walk  in  them  yourself!  Give 
your  eloquent  instructions  to  the  winds,  if  they  be 
not  enforced  by  the  more  persuasive  eloquence  of 
your  example. 

To  faithful  instruction  and  the'example  of  a  holy 
life,  the  conscientious  sponsor  will  add  unwearied  ap- 
plications at  a  throne  of  grace.  Prayer  has  been 
styled  "the  engine  that  moves  the  world,"  and  in 

8 


g»  BAPTISMAL 

the  same  way  that  it  moves  the  world,  will  it  affect 
the  heart  of  a  little  child.  It  will  wrest  from  the 
hand  of  God  that  resistless  energy,  which  can  alone 
convert,  subdue  and  sanctify  it. 

It  is  not  enough  that  the  baptized  should  be  re- 
lYiembered  in  your  hours  of  daily  devotion.  There 
should  be  stated  seasons,  and  special  times,  allotted 
to  that  one  object.  To  plead  with  God  for  his 
mercy's  sake  ;  for  his  covenant's  sake,  and  for  the 
&ake  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  way  to  obtain  the  blessing 
which  you  crave  !  Let  the  all-comprehensive  and 
inimitable  prayers  of  the  Baptismal  Service  be  the 
model,  if  not  the  very  language  itself  of  your  suppli- 
cations. 0  that  every  sponsor  would  imbibe  the 
spirit  of  fervent  prayer,  which  pervades  every  peti- 
tion of  that  interesting  service  !  Of  how  many  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  church  might  it  then  be  said, 
"  These  are  they  who  have  washed  their  robes  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  three  great  duties  de- 
volving upon  every  sponsor,  nor  can  either  of  them 
be  omitted  without  a  most  culpable  unfaithfulness. 
But  the  conscientious  godparent  will  not  even  here 
place  the  limit  to  his  exertions.  He  will  call  in 
every  other  means  which  offers  any  promise  of  suc- 
cess. The  company  which  the  baptized  one  is  per- 
mitted to  keep ;  the  books  which  he  is  permitted  to 
read;  the  amusements,  in  which  he  is  allowed  to 
engage,  will  all  be  objects  of  his  watchful  care. 
Whatever  tax  the  use  of  these  means  may  impose 


OBLIGATIONS.  9S 

«pon  his  time,  his  patience,  or  upon  his  inclinations^ 
he  will  deem  it  far  from  commensurate  with  the  im- 
portance of  the  end. 

Many  a  Christian  sponsor  has  thus  succeeded  irs 
bringing  his  youthful  charge  to  ratify  his  early  vows 
in  the  sacred  rite  of  Confirmation ;  and  thus,  too,  may 
we  secure  the  same  manly  ratification  in  our  chil- 
dren, and  the  fulfilment  of  the  covenant-promise  for 
them,  '^  I  will  be  their  God:"  "and  they  shall  be 
mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  that  day  when  I 
make  up  my  jewels." 


The  duties  to  the  baptized,  which  we  have  now 
been  considering,  do,  with  marked  propriety,  per- 
tain to  their  sponsors.  They  are  the  peculiar  guar- 
dians of  the  young  members  of  Christ's  family,  and 
at  their  hands  the  church  demands  the  most  watch- 
ful supervision.  But  these  duties  are  not  to  be  ex- 
clusively confined  to  godparents.  They  devolve,  to  a 
much  greater  extent  than  is  generally  supposed, 
upon  all  the  faithful  people  of  God. 

That  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  bound  to  extend 
peculiar  care  to  the  baptized  will  not  be  denied,  es- 
pecially when  it  is  remembered  that  Christ,  in  his 
command  to  baptize,  coupled  with  it  the  duty  of 
teaching  also  ;  an  injunction,  which  evidently  makes 
it  incumbent  upon  all  nriinisters,  faithfully  to  instruct 
them  in  the  nature  and  obligations  of  their  baptism, 
and  otherwise  to  further  their   spiritual  interests. 


94  BAPTISMAL 

But  that  all  members  of  the  Christian  household  have 
duties  to  perform,  in  relation  to  the  baptized,  ap- 
pears to  be  entirely  overlooked,  and  altogether  dis- 
regarded. 

When  we  here  assert  these  duties,  we  are  backed 
by  strong  authority.  The  testimony  of  one,  the 
value  of  whose  opinion  cannot  be  called  in  question, 
is  decided  on  this  subject ; — "  That  infants,"  says  he, 
"  should  be  baptized,  and  then  be  left  by  ministers 
and  churches  in  a  situation  undistinguishable  from 
that  of  other  children,  appears  to  me  irreconcilable 
with  any  scriptural  views  of  the  nature  and  import- 
ance of  this  sacrament."  In  another  place,  he  is 
more  decided,  and  says  of  the  baptized,  that  they 
"  are  entitled,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  the  coun- 
sel, the  reproof,  the  conversation,  the  example,  and 
the  prayers  of  Christians.'^^ 

Says  another  writer,  touching  the  same  subject, 
"The  members  of  Christ's  body — every  member  of 
the  same,  feels  an  interest  in  their  welfare ;  God's 
Church  and  people,  his  ordinances  and  ministers, 
his  word  and  Spirit,  his  providences  and  his  blessed 
Son,  are  all  engaged  in  winning  them  over  to  holi- 
ness, in  educating  them  for  eternal  bliss."  Else- 
where he  speaks  of  God's  "  requiring  his  ministers 
and  people  to  bring  all  the  means  of  grace"  to  bear 
upon  the  spiritual  welfare  of  His  young  disciples. 

They  are  all  members  of  the  same  family  ;  and  it 

♦  Dwight.  Theol.  vol.  IV.  Serra.  clvi. 


OBLIGATIONS.  95 

is  but  reasonable  that  the  baptized  should  be  objects 
of  peculiar  interest  to  all  other  members  of  the 
Christian  household.  They  all  belong  to  the  same 
fold,  and  the  wandering  lamb  must  not  stray,  for- 
gotten and  unsought  for.  They  are  members  of  the 
same  body,  and  if  one  of  the  members  suffer,  all  the 
other  members  should  sympathize  with  it,  and  seek 
its  cure. 

By  the  ancient  Persians,  whose  light  was  dim^ 
ness  compared  with  ours,  this  principle  of  social  sym- 
pathy was  fully  recognized,  and  the  social  duties 
arising  therefrom  were  esteemed  obligatory  upon 
every  member  of  the  national  family.  By  a  law  of 
the  land,  no  Persian  was  allowed  to  pray,  unless  at 
the  same  time  he  interceded  for  his  countrymen.* 
Might  not  the  same  recognizance  of  social  love  with 
far  more  propriety  be  expected  of  the  family  of 
Christ?  Shall  the  deluded  votaries  of  a  pagan 
creed  put  to  the  blush  the  followers  of  the  divine 
Redeemer  ? 

In  another  point  of  view,  these  duties  to  the  bap- 
tized appear  to  be  incumbent  upon  all  the  disciples 
of  Christ.  It  is  an  observation  of  the  excellent  Bi- 
shop Taylor,  that  we  should  "  read  our  duty  in  our 
petitions,  and  do  all  that  lieth  in  us  for  realizing  the 
objects  of  our  prayers." 

Christians !  your  supplications  have  ascended  to  a 
Throne  of  Grace  !     You  have  implored  Almighty 

*  Hero  lotus  as  quoted  by  Russel. 
Anc.  Euc.  Let.  X. 
8* 


96  BAPTISMAL 

God  to  bestow  the  richest  spiritual  blessings  upon 
most  of  the  little  children  around  you;  have  prayed 
that  they  might  receive  the  fulness  of  his  grace,  and 
ever  remain  in  the  number  of  His  faithful  children. 
Was  that  the  sincere  desire  of  your  heart?  Then 
read  your  duty  there,  and  "  do  all  that  lieth  in  you" 
to  realize  the  object  of  that  desire  !  How  much 
"lieth  in  you,"  must  be  left  to  the  decision  of  your 
own  judgment.  Only  be  it  remembered  that,  whilst 
Christian  zeal  must  be  tempered  by  Christian  pru- 
dence, there  is  danger  lest  a  fictitious  prudence 
should  hamper  theeffortsof  your  zeal ;  and  whilst  no 
sense  of  duty,  must  carry  you  beyond  the  limits  of 
discretion,  there  is  danger,  lest  a  mistaken  discre- 
tion should  pervert  your  sense  of  duty.  The  obser- 
vation is  made  with  regard  to  "  counsel,"  "  reproof" 
and  "  conversation."  There  is  little  danger  to  be 
apprehended,  from  an  excess  of  zeal,  either  in 
prayer,  or  in  holiness  of  living,  or  in  the  powerful 
preaching  of  a  good  example. 

From  these  considerations,  we  cannot  but  regard 
the  duties  which  all  Chrisians  owe  to  the  baptized, 
as  far  more  sacred  and  obligatory  than  is  generally 
supposed ;  nor  can  we  believe  it  to  be  an  unfounded 
assertion  of  Dr.  Dwight,  when  he  declares  that, 
every  baptized  person  is  "  required  and  that  he  is 
invested  with  a  plain  right  to  require  others,  to  per- 
form the  several  duties,  incumbent  on  him  and  on 
them,"*    as     members    of    the   family   of    Christ. 

*  Theol.  Serm.  clvi. 


OBLIGATIONS.  97 

Should  the  Christian  Church  ever  return  to  its  pri- 
mitive simplicity,  and  should  an  humble  devotion  to 
the  Redeemer's  cause  ever  again  pervade  the  bosoms 
of  his  followers,  the  performance  of  these  duties  will 
be  far  more  practicable  than  it  is  at  present.  It  would 
be  a  sight  affecting  and  beautiful,  to  see  all  on  whom 
the  Baptismal  Seal  has  been  placed,  labouring  and 
striving  together  for  each  other's  welfare. 

These  are  holy  duties,  such  as  angels  delight  to 
undertake  ;  duties  enjoined  by  obligations  of  frater- 
nal love,  and  such  as  shall  hereafter  receive  a  rich 
reward. 

The  true  Christian  who  has  walked  about  the 
walls  of  Zion,  and  who  views  in  its  proper  light,  the 
Baptismal  Covenant  ;  who  regards  all  within  its  pale 
as  disciples  of  Christ,  sons  of  God,  and  members  of 
the  same  holy  family,  cannot  but  cherish  a  deep  in- 
terest in  his  unconverted  fellow-disciples.  The 
Church  of  Christ  and  all,  encircled  by  her  maternal 
arms,  are  objects  of  his  solicitude.  By  the  actions  of 
his  life,  he  will  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  heart  w-hen 
he  says, — 

"If  e'er  to  bless  thy  sons, 

My  voice  or  hands  deny, 
These  hands,  let  useful  skill  forsake, 

This  voice,  in  silence  die. 

For  her,  my  tears  shall  fall, 

For  her,  iny  prayers  ascend, 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given, 

'Till  toils  and  cires  shall  end." 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

THE     OBLIGATIONS     OF    SPONSORS    TO     THE     CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH  :    TO    ALMIGHTY    GOD  ;   THEIR    PROFESSION. 

It  is  one  peculiarity  of  the  conscientious  Christian, 
that  he  is  ever  anxious  to  learn  his  duty.  He  does 
not  require  that  it  should  be  proclaimed  in  a  voice  of 
thunder,  nor  written  in  characters  of  blazing  light, 
ere  he  will  consent  to  acknowledge  it.  No,  he  will 
search  for  it,  '^  as  for  hid  treasures," — will  attach  full 
importance  to  every  little  consideration  which  en- 
forces it,  and  will  be  actuated  thereby,  to  a  faithful 
discharge  of  it. 

To  such,  we  now  more  particularly  address  our- 
selves, conscious  of  being  able  to  do  little  else  than 
simply  touch  upon  the  obligations  which  demand  a 
performance  of  the  duties  of  the  sponsorial  office. 

In  the  discharge  of  these  duties,  there  are  obsta- 
cles of  no  mean  magnitude  to  be  encountered  : — 
and  not  among  the  least  is  that  worldly  spirit,  which 
in  its  demands  upon  our  time,  our  affections  and  our 
regard,  directly  conflicts  with  the  requirements  of 
the  Baptismal  Sacrament. 

The  earthly   interests  of  their  children,  appear 


100  BAPTISMAL 

to  be  objects  of  absorbing  solicitude,  with  some  pa- 
rents : — their  temporal  well-being,  the  grand  centre 
of  all  their  hopes  and  their  desires.  To  place  their 
children,  even  though  they  be  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian family,  in  distinguished  stations;  to  acquire  for 
them  the  paltry  reputation  of  being  rich  and  fash- 
ionable; to  elevate  them  to  a  level  with  the  great, 
and  give  them  a  name  that  shall  be  known  among 
men,  are  thoughts  and  vain-glorious  aspirations,  which 
fill  the  mind,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  every  sense 
of  their  sponsorial  obligations. 

When  consulting  with  respect  to  the  dress,  com- 
pany, reading  or  education  of  their  children,  the 
question  is  not, — how  will  it  comport  with  the  Chris- 
tian character  ?  What  influence  will  it  probably 
exert  upon  the  heart  ?  Can  I  do  this  for  them  con- 
sistently with  my  sponsorial  obligations  ?  Shall  I,  in 
allowing  this,  or  in  recommending  it  to  my  children, 
give  my  sanction  to  any  thing,  forbidden  by  their 
sacramental  vows  1  No.  The  question  is  rather, — 
How  will  this  prepare  them  to  shine  in  the  world  ? 
Will  it  meet  the  approbation  of  those,  with  whom  I 
desire  them  to  associate  ?  Will  it  promote  their  tem^ 
poral  interests  ?  Thus  prone  and  prompt  are  they 
to  adopt  the  course  which  a  worldly  spirit  designates, 
although  their  sponsorial  obigations  should  bespeak 
for  it,  their  decided  condemnation. 

Another  impediment,  so  frequently  met,  that  we 
cannot  forbear  an  allusion  to  it,  is  in  the  ungodli- 
ness of  the  father.     How  must  that  melancholy  fact 


OBLIGATIONS.  lOl 

enhance  the  difficulties,  with  which  the  Christian 
mother  has  to  contend  !  When  she  would  restrain 
the  (eet  of  her  baptized  one,  from  places  of  injurious 
pleasure,  or  of  contaminating  associations,  she  finds 
here,  a  conflicting  power  drawing  him  into  the  dread- 
ed vortex.  When  she  persuades  him  to  believe  in 
Christ,  and  obey  his  Gospel,  alas!  she  is  unable  to 
point  to  his  honoured  father's  example,  for  an  en- 
forcing argument.  Thus,  whilst  the  Christian  mo- 
ther, true  to  her  high  trust,  teaches  one  thing,  the 
ungodly  father,  by  his  life  and  conversation,  teaches 
another.  The  teaching  of  the  one^  accompanied  by 
prayers,  and  tears,  and  warm  expostulation,  is  ren- 
dered comparatively  powerless,  by  that  other  teach- 
ing,  which  operates  with  noiseless,  but  unfailing 
force. 

How  important  is  it,  in  view  of  the  obstacles  and 
discouragements  with  which  the  sponsor  has  to  con- 
tend, that  every  motive  which  may  animate  him  to 
his  duty,  should  be  brought  to  bear  upon  his  heart 
and  conscience !  How  important,  not  only  as  it  re- 
gards himself,  but  the  baptized  also,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church?  To  the  faithful  discharge  of  these 
duties,  he  is  bound  by  considerations,  equally  inter- 
esting and  sacred,  equally  momentous  and  affecting. 
The  Church  of  Christ  has  a  plain  right  to  demand 
this  at  your  hands.  And  she  does  demand  it.  "  For- 
asmuch," says  that  beautiful  charge,  delivered  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  Baptismal  Service,  "  as  this 
child  hath  promised  bj  you,"  &c.     Seeing  you  have 


102  BAPTISMAL 

laid  these  vows  upon  him,  if,  becomes  ^'  your  part 
and  duty  to  see  that  this  infant  be  taught,"  &c. 
The  Church  requires  of  you  to  be  faithful  to  these 
dear  young  persons,  on  the  very  ground  that  you  have 
brought  them  to  holy  Baptism.  Earnestly  desiring, 
moreover,  the  glory  of  her  great  Head,  and  jealous 
for  the  honour  of  the  Christian  name,  she  expects  to 
see  all  her  members  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
holy  Saviour,  and  bearing  such  a  resemblance  to 
him,  as  shall  indicate  the  family  to  which  they  be- 
long. Every  effort  to  have  that  resemblance  per- 
fected in  spirit,  in  life,  and  in  conversation,  does  she 
demand  of  every  parent  and  of  every  sponsor.  She 
requires  for  her  own  sake,  for  her  own  honour,  and 
as  a  duty  due  to  herself,  that  you  teach  the  young 
baptized  wdiat  are  his  peculiar  privileges  and  dis- 
tinctions, and  what  singular  loveliness  of  character, 
and  correctness  of  deportment,  and  holiness  of  life, 
may  justly  be  expected  of  him. 

Were  you  to  adopt  into  your  own  family  the  child 
of  a  beggar,  there  would  be  no  doubt  respecting  the 
mode  of  treatment  to  be  pursued.  For  the  reputa- 
tion and  character  of  your  household,  you  would  en- 
deavour to  instil  your  own  principles  into  him, 
and  to  implant  in  his  bosom  high  and  honourable 
sentiments.  You  would  strive  to  eradicate  every 
sordid  feeling,  and  would  labour  to  remove  all  his 
vulgar  tastes,  habits  and  propensities,  and  to  correct 
every  thing  ungainly  and  awkward  in  gait,  manner, 
and    address.      And   what  persuasions    would  you 


OBLIGATIONS.  103 

employ  ?  You  would  tell  him  that  his  rank  in  life 
is  elevated,  that  he  is  now  to  move  in  a  different 
sphere,  and  be  introduced  into  the  society  of  other, 
and  more  polished  associates.  You  would  tell  him 
how  unseemly,  his  accustomed  garments  would  now 
appear,  and  you  would  impress  upon  him  the  import- 
ance of  cultivating  a  refinement  of  manner,  conver- 
sation, and  feeling,  befitting  his  station.  All  this, 
you  would  do  for  one  whom  you  had  introduced  into 
your  own  family,  and  shall  you  do  less  for  one,  whom 
you  have  introduced  into  the  family  of  Christ? 
Does  not  the  Church  with  reason,  require  that  you 
should  do  as  much?  And  in  regard  also,  of  your 
duties  as  a  parent,  she  may  rightfully  demand  at 
your  hands  a  full  discharge  of  them.  So  long  as  your 
child  was  without  her  pale,  the  Church  had  no  right 
to  require  this;  but  now  that  you  have  brought  him 
into  the  Church,  she  asks,  authoritatively,  at  your 
hands,  a  faithful  performance  of  your  parental  duties. 
To  the  Church,  you  stand  pledged,  for  the  religious 
education  of  the  young  disciple.  Were  this  a  bond 
oran  obligation,  betwixt  yourself  and  your  fellow  man, 
you  would  not  dare  to  trifle  with  it,  as  you  do. 

Solemnly  as  you  are  bound  to  the  Christian  Church, 
for  the  performance  of  your  sponsorial  duties,  to 
Almighty  God,  you  are  bound  by  considerations 
equally  momentous. 

Every  feeling  of  holy  awe  with  which  you  con- 
template His  character  ; — your  sacred  veneration  for 

the  name  of  each  person  of  the  Trinity  ; — the  hon« 

9 


1-04  BAPTISMAL 

our  and  reverence  to  which  His  holy  Sacrament  is 
entitled,  all  call  upon  you  for  a  faithful  discharge 
of  these  duties.  By  neglecting  them,  you  throw  a 
slight  upon  the  Baptismal  Covenant ;  you  undervalue 
the  rich  blessing  extended  to  your  children;  you 
view,  as  of  insignificant  importance,  the  oath  of  Al- 
mighty God,  by  which  that  blessing  is  secured,  and 
above  all,  you  evince  a  disposition  towards  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  which  mocks  the  majes- 
ty of  Heaven,  and  throws  such  despite  upon  each 
person  of  the  adorable  Trinity,  as  leaves  the  soul 
involved  in  guilt  of  a  crimson  dye. 

We  believe  it  to  be  a  truth,  needing  no  demon- 
stration, that  the  more  profound  the  veneration  en^ 
tertained  for  the  Three  persons  of  the  Godhead,  the 
more  will  Baptism  administered  in  each  hallowed 
name,  be  appreciated,  and  more  faithful  the  dis- 
charge of  duties  which  such  baptism  imposes. 

Consider,  moreover,  the  claim  which  the  Almighty 
has  upon  your  child  !  You  have  dedicated  him  to 
the  Lord  ;-^-have  consecrated  him  to  the  service  of 
the  Trinity  ;  surrendered  him,  with  your  own  hands 
and  by  your  own  act,  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — 
not,  indeed,  to  him,  in  person,  but  to  his  minister, 
his  ambassador,  his  legal  and  acknowledged  repre- 
sentative. Shrink  not  from  the  avowal  of  what  that 
solemn  deed  imports  !  If  he  belong  to  God,  the 
world,  and  Satan,  the  prince  of  this  world,  have  no 
claim  upon  his  service.  Let  them  know  that  in  your 
child,  in  your  baptized  one,  they  must  not  hope  to 


OBLIGATIONS.  105 

find  a  worshipper,  nor  a  servant.  Can  you,  consist 
tently  with  this  dedication  of  your  child  to  God, 
teach  him  to  live  for  himself  alone  ;  to  hug  his  silver 
and  his  gold  to  his  own  bosom  ;  to  toil  and  struggle 
with  an  eye  single  to  his  own  promotion,  or  to  his 
own  aggrandizement?  Should  it  not  be  your  first 
question,  when  reflecting  upon  his  education,  and 
his  future  calling  in  life, — "  Will  this  be  the  best 
thing  I  can  do  for  him,  as  a  servant  and  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ  ?"  Remember,  that,  as  you  have  dedi- 
cated your  child  to  God,  you  are  in  duty  bound  to  do 
whatever  you  can,  to  make  that  dedication  good: — - 
and  God,  himself,  demands  it  at  your  hands. 

The  force  of  your  sponsorial  obligations  is  greatly 
augmented  by  your  baptismal  profession. 

By  this  consideration,  the  Church  exhorts  you  to 
be  faithful : — "  rememberings  always  that  Baptism 
doth  represent  unto  us  our  profession."  Was  that 
profession  avowedly  your  own  ?  Did  you  in  heart 
believe,  and  in  sincerity  acknowledge,  as  you  stood 
beside  the  holy  font,  the  sinfulness  of  your  child  by 
nature,  and  its  need  of  the  renovating  grace  of 
the  Holy  Spirit?  Was  the  avowal  made  in  good 
faith,  when  you  assented  to  the  obligation  resting 
upon  him,  "  to  follow  the  example  of  our  Saviour 
Christ;"  to  ^' die  to  sin  and  rise  again  to  righteous- 
ness;" to  mortify  continually  "  all  his  evil  and  corrupt 
affections  and  daily  to  proceed  in  all  virtue  and  god- 
liness of  living?" 

Or  was  this,  the  profession  of  the  Baptismal  Sa- 
crament, falsely  made  in  the  presence  of  Almighty 


106  BAPTISMAL 

God?  Did  you  stand  before  Him  on  that  solemn 
occasion,  in  an  hypocritical  disguise,  acknowledging 
Avhat  you  did  not  feel,  and  professing  what  you  did 
not  believe? 

1  anticipate  your  answer.  You  indignantly  throw 
back  the  imputation  of  a  sin,  as  ignoble  in  the  eyes 
of  men,  as  it  is  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God.  Then  we 
ask  if  that  profession  do  not  impose  upon  you  the 
sacred  obligations  of  doing  all,  that  mortal  energy 
and  perseverance  can  accomplish,  to  induce  your 
godchild  to  live  as  becomes  it  ?  0,  if  you  believe,, 
as  you  have  professed  to  do,  that  his  eternal  sal- 
vation depends  upon  it,  how  can  you  justify  your- 
self, in  the  neglect  of  any  means  calculated  to  ef- 
fect that  end?  Admitting, — as  you  have  solemnly 
and  publicly  done, — his  guilt  and  his  misery,  harder 
than  adamant  must  your  heart  be,  if  indilferent  to 
his  rescue.  But  so  to  educate  and  train  him  up 
in  unchristian  practices,  as  to  keep  him  alive  in 
sin  and  dead  to  righteousness  ;  to  pamper  his  "evil 
and  corrupt  affection,"  by  vain  and  sinful  indulgence; 
to  hinder  him  (vom  proceeding  "  daily  in  all  virtue 
and  godliness  of  living;" — O,  this  is  giving  your 
baptismal  profession  to  the  winds,  and  worse  than 
plunging  a  poignard  into  his  bosom. 

Would  you  be  true  to  that  profession,  and  act  a 
consistent  part  ?  Then  teach  your  godchild,  "  what 
a  solemn  vow,  promise  and  profession  he  hath  here 
made  by  you,"  and  see  that  he  be  virtuously 
brought  up  "  to  lead  a  godly  and  a  Christian  life," 
Thus  alone,  can  you  prove  your  sinceritys 


OBLIGATIONS.  Wt 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   OBLIGATIONS    OF  SPONSORS  TO    THEIR    GODCHILDREN^ 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  obligations  which 
enforce  the  duties  of  your  sponsorial  office  are  those 
derived  from  your  peculiar  relationship  to  the  young 
member  of  the  Church.  As  his  surety,  pledged  for 
his  ratification  of  his  sacranvental  vow,  you  are  re- 
leased, it  is  true,  so  soon  as  he  shall  ''  come  of  age  to 
take  it  upon  himself  ;^^  but  then  there  are  other 
claims,  which  he  has  upon  you — K:laims  unimpaired 
by  ripening  years.  So  fully  does  the  Church  con-» 
fide  in  the  efficacy  of  early  religious  training;  so 
powerful  does  she  deem  the  influences  which  may 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  young  and  tender 
heart,  that  she  demands,  and  with  reason  too,  a 
pledge  of  the  sponsor,  that  his  godchild  shall,  at  the 
proper  age,  ratify  and  confirm  the  promise  of  his 
baptism.  The  fault  is  the  sponsor's,  should  the 
child  refuse  to  do  so  ;  if  not  the  case  is  a  singular 
one.  Then,  we  ask,  if  it  be  not  a  shameful  trifling  with 
the  pledge,  the  voluntary  pledge  of  your  suretiship„ 
to  neglect  any  means  for  bringing  your  godchild  to 
ihat  happy  resolve  ?     Standing  chargeable  with  any 


i08  BAPTISMAL 

such  neglect,  a  large  share  of  the  responsibility,, 
should  the  baptismal  vow  be  unconfirmed,  must  rest 
upon  yourself;  but,  exculpated  from  that  charge,, 
your  responsibility  ceases,  when  the  child  shall  come 
of  age  to  take  it  upon  himself. 

This  is  a  personal  consideration,  one  which  inti- 
mately and  seriously  concerns  yourself;  but  there 
are  others  which  concern  your  godchild,  not  to  be 
overlooked. 

You  have  brought  him  into  an  engagement,  vv^hich 
must  obligate  him,  to  become  an  avowed  follower 
of  Christ,  so  soon  as  he  shall  arrive  at  years  of  dis- 
cretion. By  performing  your  sponsorial  duties  you 
may  remove  some  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  his 
way ;  may  win  him  over  to  the  admiration  of  reli- 
gion ;  may  enlighten  his  mind  with  rays  of  gospel 
truth,  and  bend  his  young  heart  in  the  proper  di- 
rection. 

You  bore  him  in  your  arms  to  the  sacred  font, 
there  to  be  made  a  Christian,  and  "  a  child  of  God ;" 
and  in  so  doing,  signified  not  only  your  desire,  but 
your  determination,  that  he  should  so  far  as  your  in- 
fluence, by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  could 
avail,  do  all  that  a  Christian  ought  to  do,  and  be  all 
that  a  Christian  and  a  child  of  God  ought  to  be. 

You  have  greatly  increased  the  responsibilities  of 
this  child.  In  the  same  proportion  should  your  dili- 
gence and  your  exertions,  in  promoting  his  spiritual 
welfare,  be  increased. 

You  have  laid  upon  him,  in  the  most  solemn  man- 
ner, the  most  holy  vows :— and  this  thing   was  not 


OBLIGATIONS.  109. 

done  in  a  corner.  O,  then,  if  your  own  act  and 
deed  have  so  greatly  enhanced  his  obligations  to 
lead  a  holy  life,  is  it  not  your  bounden  duty  to  see, 
that  all  needful  instruction  be  imparted ;  that  every 
thing,  tending  to  check  the  growth  of  sin  in  his  heart, 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  conscience,  and  that 
every  thing,  favourable  to  the  culture  of  true  reli- 
gion in  the  breast,  be  brought  to  exert  its  influence 
upon  him  ?  Think  you,  the  Church  of  Christ  like  her 
great  Head,  ever  tender  towards  little  children, 
would  have  permitted  you  to  bring  that  child  under 
such  a  solemn  promise,  if  she  had  not  supposed  that 
you  would  have  done  your  duty  ? 

The  Church  of  Christ, — the  witnesses, — the  min- 
ister who  performed  the  ordinance,  and  each  person 
of  the  Holy  Trinity,  must  all  appear  against  you,  if 
unfaithful,  charging  you  with  most  cruel  neglect. 

Will  you  then  be  unfaithful  1  0  can  you  longer 
trifle  with  the  soul  entrusted  to  your  care?  Alas! 
for  that  child,  that  he  ever  fell  into  the  hands  of  such 
a  sponsor !  Alas !  that  he  was  ever  borne  in  your 
arms  to  the  sacred  font !  The  very  first  time  that 
he  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  house  of  God,  and  was 
seen  in  his  holy  temple,  was,  when  you,  his  parent, 
or  his  friend,  solemnly  professed,  what  you  did  not 
believe ;  solemnly  undertook^what  you  never  intend- 
ed to  perform!  What  can  be  expected  of  such  a 
child  ;  what,  when  mockery  of  Heaven,  and  con- 
tempt thrown  upon  this  holy  Sacrament,  attends  hi& 
first  introduction  in  the  house  of  God,  and  into  the 


ItO  BAPTISMAL 

Church  of  Christ ;  what,  but  that  he  should  "  lead 
the  rest  of  his  life  according  to  this  beginning?''' 

0,  then,  3"e  tender  parents!  what  exertions  will 
you  spare !  what  means  will  you  leave  untried,  at 
all  calculated,  to  secure  the  ratification  of  the  bap- 
tismal vow  by  your  children  ?  God  will  not,  no,  He 
cannot  perform  his  part  of  the  engagement,  unless 
your  children  perform  theirs,  and  how  much  does 
that  depend  upon  yourselves !  Neither  His  faithful- 
ness, nor  His  truth;  neither  His  justice,  nor  His  mer- 
cy; neither  the  honour  of  His  government,  nor  the 
Compact  itself,  calls  upon  Him  to  become  their  Sa- 
viour, and  their  God,  unless  they  confirm  the  vow, 
given  in  their  name  at  their  baptism.  How  much 
does  it  depend  upon  yourself,  whether  they  confirm 
it  or  not ! 

The  heart  of  that  child  must  be  awfully  depraved, 
which  could  resist  the  mild,  but  powerful  coercion 
of  tender  instruction,  aflTectionate  entreaty,  and  pa- 
rental example,  and  all  assisted  by  the  grace  of  God, 
imparted  in  answer  to  fervent  prayer.  Has  your 
child  attained  to  man's  estate,  and  refused  to  ratify 
his  sacramental  vows?  Pause,  ere  you  attach  to 
him  the  blame  !  A  little  reflection  may  peradven- 
ture,  fix  the  conviction  upon  your  mind,  that  much 
of  the  blame  is  to  be  laid  at  your  own  door;  that 
your  lamentations  over  his  ungodhness,  ought  rather 
to  be  converted  into  tears  for  your  own  neglect. 
Have  you  employed  all  the  means,  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  to  impress  upon  his  young  mind  a  deep  and 


OBLIGATIONS.  Ill 

realizing  sense  of  his  baptismal  responsibilities? 
Have  you  made  him  to  feel  the  deep  solemnity  of 
his  vow,  and  the  necessity  of  confirming  it?  Have 
you  carefully  warded  off  every  thing,  prejudicial  to 
the  attainment  of  that  end? 

You  promised,  on  his  behalf,  that  he  should  "  re- 
nounce the  devil  and  all  his  works."  0,  then,  have 
you  shielded  him  from  the  pollution  of  wicked  as- 
sociates, and  from  the  foul  contagion,  which  breathes 
around  him  in  the  world? 

You.  vowed  in  his  name,  that  he  should  renounce 
"the  sinful  lusts  of  the  flesh;  the  vain  pomp  and 
glory  of  the  world,  with  all  covetous  desires  of  the 
same."  Have  you,  then,  done  every  thing  to  secure 
that  renunciation  ?  Have  you,  by  every  expedient, 
which  you  could  devise,  endeavoured  to  check  the 
growth  of  pride;  to  smother  the  risings  of  vain-glory, 
and  extinguish  the  desire  for  human  admiration? 
Have  you  restrained  his  feet  from  scenes  of  dissipa- 
ting mirth,  and  of  pernicious  pleasure?  Have  you 
discouraged  all  parade  and  show,  in  dress  and  man- 
ner ?  Have  you  striven  to  subdue  those  hankerings 
after  earthly  riches,  which  like  a  canker,  corrode 
the  nobler  passions  of  the  soul,  and  poison  the  mind 
against  all  holy  things? 

What,  O  what  becomes  of  your  sponsorial  obliga- 
tions, when  you  decorate  the  bodies  of  your  children, 
with  those  vanities,  which  you  bound  them  to  re- 
nounce ?  What,  when  you  teach  these  young  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  family,  to  value  and  labour  for 


112  BAPTISMAL 

gold  or  for  renown  ? — What,  when  you  lead  them  to 
those  places  of  annusement,  where  the  glare,  and 
glitter,  and  the  idle  whirl,  drive  all  serious  thoughts 
from  the  bosom,  never  again,  perhaps,  to  resume  their 
station  there  ?  0  believe  it,  this  is  not  the  way 
to  enkindle  in  the  young  heart,  that  spirit  of  self- 
renunciation  and  devoted  zeal,  which  ought  to  distin- 
guish every  baptized  disciple  of  the  crucified  Re- 
deemer !  This  is  not  the  way  to  lead  him  to  the 
cross !  Neither  the  fashions  of  the  world,  nor  its 
gold,  nor  its  distinctions  wdll  accelerate  his  progress  to 
the  hill  of  Calvary  !  Never  can  he,  in  this  way,  "  be 
virtuously  brought  up  to  lead  a  godly  and  a  Christian 
life  !" 

And,  what  has  become  of  your  baptismal  prayers? 
Shocking  reflection !  if  they  have  ascended  to  hea- 
ven, only  to  be  recorded  as  a  testimony  against  you ! 

When  you  called  down  the  Holy  Spirit,  did  yoii 
in  reality  desire  that  He  should  come  ?  When  you 
prayed,  "  that  all  sinful  affections  might  die  in  your 
baptized  one,  and  that  all  things  belonging  to  the 
Spirit  might  live  and  grow  in  him,"  w^as  that  the 
fervent  wish  of  your  bosom  ?  When  you  prayed 
that  he  "  might  have  power  and  strength  to  have  vie* 
tory,  and  to  triumph  against  the  devil,  the  world,  and 
the  flesh,''  O,  did  that  supplication  go  from  a  heart, 
ardently  craving  the  boon  it  asked  ?  Then  solve  the 
enigma  of  your  strange  acting  with  that  child! 
Have  your  instructions  and  your  warnings ;  the  li- 
berties which  you  have  allowed,  and  the  restraints, 
which  you  have  laid  upon  him,  all  proved  the  since* 


OBLIGATIONS.  113 

dty  of  your  prayers?  Nay,  does  not  your  whole 
conduct,  in  relation  to  that  child,  rather  convict  you 
of  a  shameful  duplicity,  on  that  solemn  occasion 
when  you  presented  him  for  holy  Baptism?  Deal 
candidly  with  yourself !  Send  home  the  question  to 
your  conscience.  What  am  I  doing  with  this  child 
whom  I  have  consecrated  to  God?  And  what  are 
you  doing?  Training  him  up  for  the  world,  or  for 
the  Church ;  for  a  boon  companion  of  the  frivolous 
and  the  dissipated,  or  for  a  meet  associate  of  the 
people  of  God;  for  a  slave  of  Mammon,  or  for  a  ser- 
vant of  the  great  King;  for  an  ally  of  Satan,  or  for 
a  soldier  of  the  cross  ?  O,  is  it  your  desire  to  see 
him  shining  in  the  circles  of  the  gay,  rather  than 
an  humble  follower  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus ; 
adorned  with  the  tinsel  decorations  of  vanity  and 
folly,  rather  than  by  the  lovely  simplicity  of  the 
Christian  faith  ;  a  votary  of  fashion,  pleasure,  and 
the  world,  rather  than  a  true  defender  of  the  Re* 
deemer's  cause?  If  it  be,  proclaim  that  desire  to 
the  world  !  Be  consistent!  Return  to  the  sacred 
altar  !  Cancel  the  obligations  which  you  there  as- 
sumed !  Retract  the  solemn  profession  which  you 
there  avowed  !  Demand  of  Almighty  God  the 
child  there  dedicated  to  Him!  Obliterate  the  in- 
signia of  his  Ghurch-membership!  and  consecrate 
him  by  some  other  ceremonial  to  the  worship  and 
service  of  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  ! 

0,  if  you  shrink  from  the  performance  of  your 
sponsorial  duties ;  if  you  tend  not,  with  protecting 
care,  and  the  proper  culture,  this  dehcate  plant  of 


114  BAPTISMAL 

the  Saviour's  vineyard,  it  argues,  that  you  little  ap- 
preciate the  promise  of  having  the  Lord  for  our 
God  ;  or  else,  that  you  little  credit  the  truth  of  His 
word ;  that  you  have  little  faith  in  the  virtue  of  pa* 
rental  influence  ;  or,  that  you  affix  little  value  to 
the  soul  of  your  child.  As  you  would  avoid  the  in- 
ference, deeply  engrave  upon  his  young  heart  the 
*' solemn  vow,  promise  and  profession,  he  hath  made 
by  you."  Impress  upon  him  the  nature  of  that  pro- 
fession, and  the  solemn  import  of  that  vow!  You 
will  find  it  a  most  potent  argument,  urging  him,  with 
an  almost  resistless  power,  publicly  to  avow  the  one, 
and  ratify  the  other!  By  the  sacredness  of  the 
oath  call  upon  him;  by  the  faithfulness  of  the  great 
Jehovah  encourage  him ;  by  his  dedication  to  Christ, 
persuade  him  ;  by  his  high  profession,  entreat  him  ; 
by  his  distinctive  privileges,  and  the  richness  of  the 
covenant-promise,  animate  him  to  fulfil  and  openly 
to  ratify,  and  confirm  his  baptismal  obligations! 

I  do  not  lightly  esteem  the  difficulties  of  your 
undertaking.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  divert  the  impe- 
tuous flow  of  evil  passions,  and  unholy  desires,  and 
depraved  inclinations  into  a  channel  so  directly  op- 
posite to  that  which  they  now  occupy.  Arduous  is 
the  work  before  you,  but  mighty  is  the  arm,  pledged 
for  your  assistance  !  Enter  upon  that  work  and 
prosecute  it;  begin,  continue  and  end  it,  ''strong  in 
the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might ;"  en- 
couraged by  the  animating  reflection  that, 

"  Who  in  the  strength  of  Jesus  trusts, 

Is  more  than  conqueror." 


CHAPTER  X. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS  OF  SPONSORS  IN  BAPTISM. 

In  this  noble,  but  arduous  undertaking,  there  are 
the  sweetest  and  richest  encouragements.  Success 
does  not  here  rest  upon  a  bare  peradventure.  The 
unbelieving  bosom,  alone,  would  dare  to  anticipate 
a  failure.  The  young  heart  is  soft  and  tender,  and 
incalculable  is  the  power  which  parental  influence 
may  exert  upon  it.  This  were,  indeed,  of  itself, 
wholly  inadequate  to  the  accomplishment  of  such  a 
mighty  change  in  its  passions,  motives,  and  inclina- 
tions, but  powerfully,  nevertheless,  may  it  affect 
them.  If  we  trace  our  noblest  river  to  its  rise,  in 
all  probability,  we  shall  find  that  a  little  hillock  de- 
termines its  direction,  diverts  its  course,  prevents  it 
from  flowing  through  other  regions,  and  turns  it  into 
the  channel  which  it  now  occupies.  And  yet,  it 
would  scarcely  be  credited  by  one,  who  was  gazing 
upon  its  deep,  broad  waters,  rolling  on  in  their  ma- 
jestic progress  to  the  ocean,  that  a  little  hillock,  not 
higher,  perhaps,  than  his  own  arm  could  reach,  has 
made  it  to  sweep  along  in  that  direction,  instead  of 
the  one,  diametrically  opposite.  So  in  like  manner^ 
10 


ne  BAPTISMAL 

in  the  moral  world,  are  the  most  important  results 
frequently  obtained  by  the  most  apparently  inade-> 
(juate  means. 

But  why  need  1  dwell  upon  the  motives  of  en- 
couragement, to  be  drawn  from  this  consideration? 
The  faithfulness  of  God  is  your  strongest  ground  of 
confidence  ;  the  source  of  your  sweetest  and  most 
lively  encouragement.  The  faithfulness  of  God,  de- 
clared in  the  Sacred  Volume,  and  attested  by  many 
interesting  facts,  affords  abundant  reason  for  antici- 
pating the  richest  success. 

Is  it  urged,  in  opposition  to  all  this,  that  many  very 
pious  parents,  have  ungodly  children  ?  Let  it  be 
remembered  that  those  parents  may  have  been,  and 
in  all  probability,  were,  negligent  of  their  duty  to 
their  children.  Though  sincerely  pious,  they  may 
have  been  ignorant  of  their  sponsorial  responsibilities 
and  of  the  obligations,  also,  imposed  by  their  parental 
relationship.  Both  Eli  and  David  were  holy  men  in 
the  sight  of  God,  but  egregiously  failed  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  parental  duties.  The  unhappy  end 
of  their  children  affords  a  melancholy  proof  that 
the  best  of  men  are  not  always  the  best  of  parents. 

Let  every  Christian  sponsor  who  should  be  called 
to  lament  the  irrcligion  of  a  beloved  child,  revert  to 
the  course,  which  he  has,  himself,  pursued :  and  see  if 
his  failure,  be  not  attributable  to  some  neglect,  on 
his  own  part.  If  not,  peradventure,  he  may  trace 
it  to  his  own  unbelief.  Has  he  had  entire  confi- 
dence in  the  faithfulness  of  God?     Has  he  relied,  with 


OBLIGATIONS.  117 

unwavering  assurance,  upon  the  promise  of  God? 
Has  he  laboured  in  this  arduous  work,  with  an 
humble  dependance  upon  the  grace  of  God?  Or 
has  he  not  been  somewhat  apprehensive,  lest  his 
heavenly  Father  should  not  deign  to  regard  him, 
nor  crown  his  efforts  with  success  ? 

The  very  reason  why  the  Almighty  has  not  poured 
out  His  Holy  Spirit  more  abundantly  upon  yourself, 
and  His  converting  grace  more  abundantly  upon 
your  children  may  possibly  be  found  in  the  same 
cause,  to  which  the  Evangelist  ascribes  the  refusal 
of  Christ,  to  manifest  his  power  among  the  people  of 
Nazareth, — "  He  did  not  inany  mighty  works 
there  because  of  their  unbelief. ^^ 

But,  whether  or  not,  the  anxious  parent  can  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  his  failure,  in  himself,  let  him  not 
attribute  it  to  any  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the 
Almighty  to  bless  his  exertions.  If  he  have  used 
every  means  in  his  power,  and  if  conscience  have 
no  neglect  with  which  to  upbraid  him,  let  him  still 
rely  upon  the  promise  of  God.  His  children  may 
yet  ratify  their  baptismal  vows,  and  become  devoted 
soldiers  of  the  Cross.  The  Almighty,  to  prove  his 
faith  ;  to  test  his  sincerity  ;  to  try  whether  he  w^ere 
in  good  earnest,  in  endeavouring  to  lead  the  young 
disciple  in  the  way  of  holiness,  may  withhold  His 
blessing,  perhaps  for  years.  Boyhood,  and  youth, 
and  early  manhood  may  roll  over  his  child,  ere  he 
ratify  his  baptismal  vows.  But  let  him  not  despair. 
No  time  can  impair  the  validity  of  the  sacred  ordi- 


118  BAPTISMAL 

nance.  The  seal  is  on  the  brow  of  the  baptized  one: 
the  conditions  are  binding  upon  his  conscience,  and 
the  rich  blessing  of  the  compact  is  still  extended. 
A  parent's  kind  instructions,  tender  admonitions,  and 
Christian  example  are  not  soon  obliterated  from  the 
memory  of  his  child,  nor  are  a  parent's  supplications 
ever  forgotten  in  heaven.  Years  may  wing  their 
flight  away,  ere  the  blessed  fruit  appear.  The 
ground  which  he  has  cultivated,  with  such  untiring 
industry,  may  long  withhold  the  promise  of  its  har- 
vest. The  seed  sown,  like  the  grain  of  the  husband- 
man, when  buried  in  the  earth,  may  be  lost  to  his 
recollection.  But  in  God's  own  time,  the  showers  of 
His  grace  shall  descend  upon  "  the  children  of  the 
covenant,"  and  they  shall  be  "  as  willows  by  the 
water  courses,^''  and  "  all  that  see  them,  shall  ac- 
knowledge them,  that  they  are  the  seed  which  the 
Lord  hath  blessed.^'' 

Another  encouragement,  pertaining  exclusively  to 
the  parents  and  sponsors  of  the  baptized,  may  be  de- 
rived from  the  fact,  that  each  person  of  the  Godhead 
is  peculiarly  interested  in  the  work,  for  which  they 
have  pledged  themselves.  I  believe  that,  if  at  any 
time,  in  any  work,  any  creature  becomes,  in  a  pe^ 
culiar  sense,  a  co-worker  with  God,  it  is  the  Christian 
sponsor,  when  striving  to  impress  the  baptized,  with 
a  sense  of  his  sacramental  obligations. 

O,  are  not  these,  animating  reflections? 

Go  on,  then.  Christian  sponsor !  encouraged  by  the 
delightful  thought !     The  God  of  the  Covenant,  thus 


OBLIGATIONS.  119 

in  an  especial  manner,  interested  in  your  baptized 
one,  will  regard  your  work,  with  the  smiles  of  his  pe- 
culiar favour.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  not  permit 
the  honour  put  upon  His  own  institution,  to  be  un- 
rewarded. The  heavy  responsibilities,  which  you 
were  then  to  assume,  did  not  deter  you  from  bringing 
your  child  to  His  holy  Baptism,  and  He  will  bless 
you,  by  blessing  him.  And  the  Holy  Spirit,  also, 
seeing  that  you  confide  in  the  hope  of  receiving  His 
gracious  assistance,  will  not  disappoint  you;  and  in 
reward  for  the  honour,  then  put  upon  His  name, 
will  be  the  more  ready  and  willing  to  aid  you  in 
meeting  your  obligations  and  in  bringing  your  child 
to  the  cross  of  Christ. 

If  another  incentive  be  needed,  think  of  the  in- 
efTable  delight,  with  which  you  would  regard  your 
child,  should  you  become  the  instrument  of  his  con- 
version 1  What  joy,  what  rapture,  must  fill  the 
bosom  of  that  parent,  who  is  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing into  that  fairer  world  on  high,  the  immortal 
being,  which  he  introduced  into  this  world  of  sin 
and  sorrow  ! — who  becomes  the  instrument  of  con- 
ducting into  the  Church  in  heaven,  the  young  disci- 
ple whom  he  brought  into  the  Church  on  earth  ! 
And  0,  with  what  feelings  of  more  than  filial  love 
must  such  a  child,  hang  upon  the  bosom  of  such  a 
parent!  What  a  torrent  of  gratitude  must  gush 
from  his  soul,  when  first  he  places  his  foot  upon  the 
soil  of  the  heavenly  Canaan  !  But  0,  if  that  soul 
should  be  lost— if  it  should  be  lost,  think  you,  amid  its 
10* 


120  BAPTISMAL 

tossings  and  its  heavings  in  the  lake  of  fire,  it  would 
not  remember  you! — that  its  shrieks  of  agony  would 
not  be  mingled  with  upbraiding  cries,  against  your 
cruel  neglect  of  his  spiritual  welfare !  Better  far 
to  be  buried  in  utter  oblivion,  than  remembered 
with  such  bitter  execrations! 

O  ye  guardians  of  the  baptized !— how  can  you 
be  unfaithful?  With  such  solemn  obligations  press- 
ing upon  you,  how  can  you  be  idle  ?  With  such 
animating  encouragem.ents,  why  should  your  heart 
grow  faint?  Compelled  by  the  former;  persuaded 
by  the  latter  ;— driven  by  one  ;  drawn  by  the  other  ; 
how  can  you  be  false  to  your  sponsorial  duties?  Your 
very  encouragements,  themselves,  impose  a  peculiar 
obligation  upon  you  to  be  faithful.  The  strong  as- 
surances of  success  extended  ;  the  inviolable  promise 
of  the  great  Jehovah  given;  the  best  of  all  security 
granted  you,  will  only  serve  to  aggravate  the  guilt 
of  your  unfaithfulness ! 

Does  a  review  of  what  you  have  done,  convict  you 
of  a  lamentable  neglect  of  your  sponsorial  duties  ? — 
Does  conscience  condemn  ?  0,  then,  let  sorrow  for 
the  past,  make  you  faithful  for  the  future ! — faithful 
to  your  God  ;  faithful  to  your  obligations  ;  faithful  to 
the  souls  of  your  godchildren  !  Were  they  born 
slaves  to  a  hateful  and  cruel  master,  how  would  you 
urge  them  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  an  engage- 
ment, which  was  to  secure  their  freedom !  Here, 
then,  is  an  engagement  to  deliver  them  from  the 
yoke  of  an  eternal  bondage,  the  bondage  of  the  soul ; 


OBLIGATIONS.  121 

Satan  and  sin,  the  austere  masters;  nor  only  so,  but 
to  confer  upon  them,  "  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God." 

You  have  done  much  by  bringing  them  to  this  holy 
Sacrament.  Great  is  their  privilege,  and  lively 
should  be  your  hope !  But,  remember,  that  whilst 
the  baptism  of  water  may  introduce  them  into  the 
Church  on  earth  ;  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
can  alone  introduce  them  into  the  Church  above. 
One,  may  make  them  members  of  the  family  of 
Christ ;  but  the  other,  alone,  can  impress  upon  the 
soul  the  image  of  the  great  Head.  One,  may  give 
them  a  title  to  the  promise  of  the  covenant,  and  all 
therein  embraced,  but  the  other  is  necessary  ere  that 
title  can  be  made  good.  One,  may  make  them  "  Sons 
of  God,"  but,  it  is  only  by  the  other,  that  they  can 
receive  "  the  Spirit  of  adoption."  One,  may  enlist 
them  in  the  army  of  the  Lord ;  but  the  other  can 
alone  infuse  the  fortitude  and  valour  of  the  Christian 
soldier.  Your  supplications  at  a  throne  of  grace, 
may  obtain  that  most  needful  baptism  for  them. — 
Cease  not,  until  it  be  granted  !  Temporal  blessings 
are  sometimes  implored,  when  we  are  better  without 
them,  and  God,  in  wdsdom  and  mercy  denies  the 
prayer.  But  not  so  with  the  blessings  of  heavenlj 
grace.  "  The  promise"  of  these  "is  unto  you  and 
your  children."  You  remember  the  argument  of 
Christ  in  reference  to  this  very  gift.  '*If  a  son  shall 
ask  bread  of  any  of  you  that  is  a  father,  will  he  give 
him  a  stone? — or,  if  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  for  a  fish, 


122  BAPTISMAL 

give  him  a  serpent  ?— or,  if  he  shall  ask  an  egg,  will 
he  offer  him  a  scorpion  ?"  '^  If  then,  ye,  being  evil," 
fallen,  corrupt,  depraved  creatures,  "  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more 
shall  your  heavenly  Father,"  ever  tender,  ever  con- 
siderate, ever  kind,  '^  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him  ? " 

Importunate  prayer  for  God's  converting  grace 
will,  sooner  or  later,  be  answered.  Remember  the 
woman  of  Canaan  !  As  it  was  with  her,  so  may  it 
be  with  you !  Earnestly  did  she  cry, — "  Have  mercy 
on  me,  0  Lord  ! — thou  Son  of  David ;  my  daughter 
is  grievously  vexed  with  a  devil !  "  But,  no, — there 
must  be  a  trial  of  her  faith.  ^'He  answered  her  not 
a  wordy  But  she  persisted,  nothing  discouraged  by 
the  apparent  neglect, — "  Lord,  help  me  !  "  And  her 
importunity  prevailed.  The  same  trial,  under  cir- 
cumstances, strongly  analagous,  may  be  necessary 
for  yourself  The  blessings  which  you  crave,  for  the 
baptized,  may  be  long  withheld !  Be  not,  then, 
discouraged,  though  God  should  answer  you  ''  not  a 
word:''' — but  bear  these  dear  young  persons,  on  the 
arms  of  unwavering  faith  and  prayer,  before  a 
throne  of  grace,  and  He  who  heard  that  anxious 
mother's  cry,  will  hear  yours  also  ' 

For  the  following  quotation  from  an  eminent  Bishop 
of  our  church,  with  which  I  conclude  this  appeal,  I 
must  bespeak  your  serious  consideration.  By  its 
high  authority,  it  may  lend  some  additional  import- 
ance  to  the  views,  which  we  have  taken  of  your 


OBLIGATIONS.  123 

sponsorial  obligations.  <'If,"  says  he,  '^instead  of 
the  too  common  way  of  expecting  nothing,  to  the 
exercise  of  faith  and  prayer,  on  the  part  of  the 
sponsors  and  the  congregation,  but  the  mere  outward 
translation  of  the  baptized  into  membership  with  the 
Church,  and  a  covenant-relation  to  its  Head,  it  were 
more  common  to  seek  for  our  children,  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  Spirit,  in  their  presentation  to  Christ ; 
did  we  take  more  pains  with  our  own  hearts,  that  we 
might  offer  our  children  with  strong  faith  and  fervent 
prayer,  and,  as  they  are  growing  in  years,  did  we 
more  faithfully  and  tenderly  deal  with  them,  when 
teaching  or  admonishing,  or  praying  for  them,  as 
positively  consecrated  to  God,  and  separated  by  an 
unchangeable  line  from  the  world ;  did  we  plant  our 
filTorts  more  upon  their  baptismal  vows,  take  the 
text  of  their  instruction  more  from  their  baptismal 
covenant,  and  pray  more  for  them,  with  that  in  our 
view ;  the  spectacle  would  be  more  common  of  little 
children  manifesting  that  they  have  been  with  Jesus; 
evincing  hopeful  signs  of  having  received  *  the  spirit 
of  adoption  ;'  so  that  the  separation  would  not  seem 
so  wide  and  necessary,  between  *  the  laver  of  re- 
generation and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.' " 

Be  impelled,  then.  Christian  sponsors ! — and  en- 
couraged to  a  conscientious  discharge  of  your  sacred 
obligations!  With  an  humble  reliance  upon  Al- 
mighty aid,  perform  your  duty  to  the  young  disciples 
of  the  Church,  and  God  will  be  faithful  to  His  word. 
Your  heart  will  be  cheered,  and  your  eye  delighted 


134  BAPTISMAL 

with  the  gladdening  spectacle  of  their  open,  manly 
and  noble  ratification  of  their  baptismal  vows: — and 
God  Himself  will  become  their  portion  in  time  and 
for  eternity ;  their  Saviour  and  Deliverer,  in  the  hour 
of  death,  and  in  the  day  of  judgment.  He  does  not 
promise,  in  this  holy  covenant,  to  add  acres  to  their 
possessions;  to  lift  them  to  the  pinnacle  of  earthly 
distinction;  nor  to  feed  those  covetous  and  sinful  de- 
sires, which  you  bound  them  to  renounce.  His  pro- 
mise  is  for  eternity.  His  vow  is  for  the  immortal 
soul,  for  that  which  cannot  die,  for  that  which  may 
be  happy  or  miserable  forever !  0,  as  you  value 
that  covenant-blessing,  and  covet  it  for  these  dear 
young  persons,  be  faithful !— be  faithful !  And  God 
grant,  for  3^ourselves  and  for  them,  the  prayer  which 
your  own  lips  have  already  uttered,  that  "  being 
steadfast  in  faith,  joyful  through  hope,  and  rooted  in 
charity,  you  may  so  pass  the  waves  of  this  trouble- 
some world,  that  finally,  you  may  come  to  the  land 
of  everlasting  life  !  " 


OBLIGATIONS.  125 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OBLIGATIONS  OF  THE  BAPTIZED. 

^ELATION  TO  THEIR  SPONSORS  :  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP  t 
THEIR  CHRISTIAN  NAME  :  THE  SIGN  OF  DISTINCTION  > 
THEIR  BAPTISMAL  PROFESSION  :  THEIR  DEDICATION  TO 
GOD. 

Dost  thou  not  think  that  thou  art  bound  to  believe 
and  do,  as  they  have  promised  for  thee? 
Ans.  Yes,  verily. 


That  was  an  hour  of  solemn  and  sublime  interest,, 
in  the  lives  of  the  baptized,  when  they  were  brought 
into  covenant  with  the  Most  High  God  :  and  a 
transaction  secondary  only  to  that,  is  their  ratifica- 
tion of  the  vows  then  made  in  their  name,  in  the  sa- 
cred rite  of  Confirmation. 

Seldom  are  we  permitted  to  witness  a  more  thril- 
ling and  affecting  spectacle  than  this!  There  is 
every  thing  in  the  act,  to  elicit  the  warmest  admi- 
ration, and  to  excite  the  deepest  interest ;  there  is 
more  in  it  than  the  pen  of  the  poet  can  describe,  or 
the  pencil  of  the  artist  pourtray. 


126  BAPTISMAL 

The  admirable  service  appointed  by  the  Church 
for  the  occasion;  the  officer  who  performs  it;  the 
chief  Shepherd  of  the  flock;  the  candidates  for  con- 
firmation, gathered  around  him,  there  to  perform 
the  most  important  act  of  their  whole  lives,  all  com- 
bine to  impart  the  most  touching  interest  to  that  af- 
fecting solemnity.  And  then  to  know  that  these 
young  candidates  are  tearing  themselves  away  from 
powerful  allurements,  from  the  brilliant  circles  of 
the  gay,  and  the  fascinations  of  the  world;  that  they 
are  forfeiting,  possibly,  some  important  interest  in 
earth's  valued  things,  incurring,  it  may  be,  the  dis- 
pleasure of  dear  friends  or  relatives ;  subjecting 
themselves,  in  all  probability,  to  scoffs,  or  sneers,  or 
frowns;  all  this  that  they  may  take  their  stand  be- 
side the  holy  Saviour,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
great  congregation,  and  in  the  face  of  the  whole 
world,  and  in  the  sight  of  God,  avow  the  profession 
and  ratify  the  vows  of  their  baptism.  0,  how  does 
this  stir  up  the  deepest  and  the  noblest  feelings  of 
the  breast ! 

Much  more  frequently  would  that  lovely  sight  be 
witnessed,  were  their  sacramental  obligations  duly 
felt  and  realized  by  the  baptized  !  It  is  my  earn- 
est desire,  as  it  shall  be  my  strenuous  endeavour,  to 
make  you  feel  and  realize  them.  In  early  child- 
hood you  were  taught  to  acknowledge  them : — 
*'  Dost  thou  not  think  that  thou  art  bound  to  be- 
lieve, and  do  as  they  promised  for  thce?^^  <'  Yes, 
verily, ^^  you  were  made  to  reply,  ^^  and  by  God^s 


OBLIGATIONS.  127 

help^  so  IwilV^  To  several  considerations,  which 
impose  this  bounden  duty,  we  now  call  your  atten- 
tion. We  could  scarcely  beoc  cupied  with  a  lovelier 
theme,  or  engaged  in  a  more  delightful  task. 

If  you  have  any  tenderness  of  heart;  any  manli^ 
ness  of  spirit ;  any  nobleness  of  soul :  if  you  have  any 
feelings  of  filial  love;  and  any  reverential  awe  for 
the  adorable  Godhead  :  if  you  have  a  conscience  not 
petrified,  and  a  judgment  not  blinded  by  sin,  to  these 
I  address  myself.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  there  be 
any  sordid  feeling  in  your  heart;  any  ignobleness  of 
soul;  any  want  of  affectionate  regard  for  your  pa- 
rents or  sponsors:  if  there  be  any  unbelief,  or  any 
want  of  reverence  for  the  Almighty  Jehovah:  if 
there  be  in  your  breast  a  blunted  conscience,  a  per- 
verted judgment,  or  a  heart  that  recks  no  conse* 
quences,  alas  !  I  fear  they  will  stand  centinel  at  the 
portals  of  your  bosom,  and  obstruct  the  entrance  of 
truths,  for  which  I  crave  admittance  there. 

I  shall  not  occupy  your  time,  nor  your  attention^ 
by  an  exposition  of  Gospel  truths  It  is  not  my  de- 
sign to  lay  down  before  you  the  plan  of  salvation, 
nor  to  treat  of  the  nature  of  Repentance,  Faith  and 
Obedience,  the  three  conditions  of  the  Covenant. 
The  frequent  instructions  of  the  pulpit,  and  the 
many  excellent  written  treatises  upon  these  points, 
render  it  unnecessary. 

There  are  two  points  which  it  shall  be  my  humble 

endeavour  to  establish  ;  first,  that  it  is  your  duty 

*  Church  Catechism. 
11 


12S  BAPTISMAL 

"  to  believe  and  do  as  they  promised  for  you :" — > 
secondly,  that  it  is  your  interest  to  do  so. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  what  they  promised  for 
you  is,  that  you  should  renounce  all  that  God  for- 
bids ;  believe  all  that  He  reveals;  and  strive  to 
practice  all  that  He  commands. 

With  the  hope  that  your  mind  may  be  divested 
of  every  thing,  prejudicial  to  the  acknowledgment  of 
your  baptismal  duties,  I  affectionately  and  earnestly 
solicit  your  attentive  regard,  for  the  considerations 
which  go  to  establish  and  enforce  them. 

We  are  compelled  to  resort  to  no  abstruse  reason- 
ing; to  no  elaborate  argumentation.  The  point  to 
which  your  attention  is  called  is  involved  in  no  ob- 
scurity, but  may  be  made  to  appear  sufficiently 
plain  to  the  most  narrow  comprehension. 

There  is  a  relationship,  peculiar  in  its  nature, 
subsisting  betwixt  yourself,  and  your  parents  and 
sponsors.  It  is  a  relationship  which  commenced  at 
the  time,  and  originated  in  the  act,  of  their  presen- 
tation of  you  at  the  sacred  font  for  holy  baptism 
From  it  we  deduce  one  of  the  many  obligations, 
which  should  constrain  you  '^to  believe  and  do  as 
they  promised  for  you."  Every  feeling  of  filial  re- 
verence and  love  demands  it  at  your  hands.  By  the 
most  touching  considerations,  which  can  be  present- 
ed to  a  young  and  tender  heart,  you  are  bound  to 
honour  the  sacred  oath  which  they  laid  upon  you, 
and  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  solemn  profession 
which  they  then  avowed.     By  making  this  vow  and 


OBLIGATIONS,  129 

profession  in  your  name,  they  acknowledged  that  it 
was  your  duty,  and  your  interest  to  confirm  the  one 
and  live  consistently  with  the  other.  That  was  a 
calm  and  deliberate,  thougb  silent  expression  of 
their  firm  belief.  And  is  their  opinion,  so  decidedly 
avowed;  and  is  that  act  of  theirs,  so  solemnly  per- 
formed, of  no  consequence  in  your  estimation  ?  By 
refusing  "  to  believe  and  do  as  they  promised  for 
you,"  you  deny  the  obligation  esteemed  by  them  so 
sacred  ;  and  by  denying  the  obligation,  you  charge 
them  With  folly,  in  entertaining  such  an  opinion  ; 
and  with  injustice,  in  laying  the  vow  upon  you. 

The  hour  in  which  they  presented  you  for  Bap- 
tism was  one  of  serious  consequence  to  themselves. 
And  whose  welfare  did  they  seek  by  that  holy  deed  ? 
Their  own  ?  They  had  nothing  to  gain.  It  was 
solely  your  own  individual,  and  eternal  good;  for, 
the  same  act  which  was  designed  to  secure  an  ever- 
lasting portion  in  heaven  for  you,  laid  upon  them» 
selves  most  serious  and  weighty  responsibilities. 

Shall  those  tender  parents,  or  those  kind  and  con- 
siderate friends  who  thus  endeavoured  to  advance 
your  best  interests,  have  the  sorrow  to  think  that 
all  was  done  in  vain  1  Shall  their  hearts  be  tortured 
by  the  reflection  that  the  child  of  their  love  ;  of  their 
anxieties  ;  and  of  their  prayers,  is  guilty  of  mockery 
of  God  ;  of  contempt  for  one  of  His  holy  sacraments ; 
of  unfaithfulness  to  the  vow  of  a  covenant  engage- 
ment, and  of  indifference  to  the  proffered  favour  of 
|iea,Yea  ? 


130  BAPTISMAL 

They  are  your  sureties.  They  stand  pledged  ta 
Ahnighty  God,  and  pledged  to  His  Church,  for  the 
faithful  performance  by  you  of  your  Christian  duties. 
By  every  sense  of  justice,  as  well  as  by  every  feeling 
of  love,  you  are  bound  to  release  them  from  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  their  suretiship;  to  release  them  by 
assuming  the  debt  yourself,  in  the  sacred  rite  of  Con- 
firmation. 

But  there  are  other  considerations,  of  weighty  im- 
portance, which  enforce  these  obligations  of  the  Bap- 
tismal Sacrament,  and  leave  him  who  refuses  to 
comply,  stript  of  every  excuse,  and  destitute  of 
every  palliation. 

The  Christian  Church  calls  upon  you,  authorita- 
tively, to  believe  and  do,  as  the  vows  of  the  covenant 
require.  Through  that  covenant,  you  became  a 
member  of  the  Church.  Whatever  slight,  or  what- 
ever contemptuous  disregard  is  thrown  upon  the  one, 
falls  equally  upon  the  other  also.  If,  by  refusing  to 
confirm  its  vows,  you  dishonour  the  Covenant;  at 
the  same  time,  and  by  the  same  anful  neglect,  you 
dishonour  the  Christian  Church. 

Her  members,  her  ministers,  her  bishops,  and  her 
great  Head,  all  hold  you  accountable  for  this.  This 
insulting  indifference,  I  can  use  no  milder  term, 
touches,  and  is  felt  sensibly,  through  every  nerve  of 
every  member  of  the  body  of  Christ.  It  is  only,  by 
a  faithful  discharge  of  your  baptismal  obligations, 
that  you  can  wipe  away  the  reproach,  which  your 
peglect  has  thrown  upon  the  Church  of  God:  thus 


eBLIGATrONS.  13  i 

ailone,  can  'you  honour  her,  as  she   deserves  to  be 
honoured. 

The  Church  may  reasonably  cherish  the  hope,  as 
she  does  most  truly  and  earnestly,  the  deske  of  seeing 
all  within  her  pale  staunch  and  avowed  advocates 
of  her  faith  and  her  worship.  She  denied  you  not, 
though  a  weak  and  helpless  infant,  the  privileges, 
nor  the  distinctions  conferred  upon  her  by  Christ,  her 
Head.  She  has  therefore  a  right,  now  that  you  are 
of  a  riper  age,  to  expect  some  return  for  the  tender 
regard,  care  and  culture  extended  to  you  in  the  days 
of  your  infancy.  O  shall  the  child  forget  the  mo- 
ther, in  whose  bosom  it  was  so  carefully,  so  tenderly 
nursed  and  nurtured  1  The  Church  has  a  claim 
upon  you  ;  a  claim  which  entitles  her  to  your  love, 
and  to  your  service ;  which  justifies  her  in  requiring 
that  you  should  renounce  all  that  a  Christian  ought 
to  renounce;  believe  all  that  a  Christian  ought  to 
believe;  and  do  all  that  a  Christian  ought  to  do;  a 
claim  sanctioned  by  the  calm  and  deliberate  act  of 
the  authors  of  your  existence,  and  the  guardians  of 
3'our  infancy. 

The  child  of  Jewish  parents,  introduced  by  cir- 
cumcision into  the  Jewish  Church,  regarded  his  time, 
his  talents,  his  property,  as  rightfully  her  own  ; 
pledged  to  advance  her  interests  and  promote  her 
glory.  To  her  requests  he  gave  his  first  attention. 
With  her  requirements,  he  permitted  nothing  to  in- 
terfere. Did  she  ask  the  time,  usually  allotted  to 
his  daily  avocation  ?  He  freely  gave  it !  Did  she 
11* 


i^2  BAPTISMAL 

call  him  away  from  the  pursuit  of  earthly  things,  to 
give  attendance  upon  her  holy  ordinances  ?  He  gladly 
came!  Did  she  ask  the  first  fruits  of  his  vineyard, 
and  the  choicest  of  his  flock  ?  The  demand  was  an- 
swered by  abundant  offerings  of  corn,  and  wine,  and 
oil;  his  stalls  gave  up  their  failings;  his  herds  sur- 
rendered the  most  unblemished  of  his  oxen  ;  his  fold, 
the  sheep  of  greatest  beauty  and  value.  And  shall 
you,  a  member  of  the  same  Church,  though  under  a 
better,  and  a  happier  dispensation, — shall  you,  ex- 
alted by  higher  distinctions ;  in  the  enjoyment  of 
more  enviable  privileges,  do  less  than  he?  Are 
there  not  other,  and  more  restraining  motives,  urg- 
ing you  to  defend  the  honour,  to  pray  for  the  peace, 
and  to  seek  the  prosperity  of  Zion?  Rest  assured, 
you  are  altogether  unprepared  for  either  work,  so 
long  as  you  refuse  to  ratify  your  sacramental  vows  ! 
Your  Christian  name  suggests  another  considera- 
tion, which  should  prompt  you  '*  to  believe  and  do 
as  they  promised  for  you."  The  highest  title  by 
which  the  family  of 'Christ,  and  the  people  of  God 
are  designated,  has  been  conferred  upon  you.  There 
is  none  on  earth,  and  none  in  heaven ;  neither  pro- 
phet, apostle,  nor  martyr,  who  does  not  regard  the 
name  of  Christian  as  his  most  enviable  and  glorious 
appellation;  not  one,  who,  rather  than  bring  reproach 
upon  that  appellation,  would  not  cheerfully  surren- 
der his  body  to  the  flames.  But,  how  do  you  regard 
the  honour  of  this  title,  and  the  character  of  your 
station,  by  refusing  to  confirm  the  promise  of  youf 
baptism  ! 


OBLIGATIONS.  1^ 

Remember  that,  the  very  first  time,  in  which  your 
Christian  name,  was  formally  and  officially  uttered^ 
was,  when  this  promise  was  made  on  your  behalf. 
It  stands  now,  appended  to  the  compact  entered  into 
between  yourself  and  your  God.  O  let  it  be  a  me- 
morial to  remind  you  of  your  covenant-oath  :  of 
your  sacred  profession;  of  your  high  privileges;  of 
your  dedication  to  Almighty  God;  of  the  station 
which  3^ou  hold  in  the  Christian  Church ;  and  of  the 
rich  inheritance,  secured  to  you  under  this  appella- 
tion ;  and  thus  let  it  remind  you  of  your  obligation  to 
renounce  all  that  God  forbids ;  to  believe  all  that 
He  reveals  ;  and  to  practice  all  that  He  commands. 
luet  it  ever  preserve  the  recollection  of  your  baptis- 
mal engagements,  and  keep  alive  in  your  mind,  a 
deep  sense  of  duty  to  live  as  becomes  a  disciple  of 
the  holy  Son  of  God.  Never,  so  long  as  you  bear 
a  Christian  name, — never  should  those  solemn  en- 
gagements vanish  from  your  recollection,  nor  that 
sense  of  your  duty  relax  its  hold  upon  your  con- 
science. 

The  mark  of  distinction  on  your  brow,  enhances 
the  force  of  this  obligation.  It  separates  you  from 
the  heathen  world,  which  acknowledges  not  a 
Saviour,  and  refuses  its  assent  to  the  truths  of  the  Gos- 
pel. It  indicates  you  to  be  a  Christian ;  not,  indeed^ 
in  heart,  for  then,  this  appeal  would  be  unnecessary^ 
but,  a  Christian  in  contradistinction  to  a  heathen. 
Baptism  is  the  badge  of  the  Christian  Church;  the 
Hvery  of  the  servants  of  the  Great  King,  the  insignia 


1)34  BAPTISMAL 

of  His  soldiery.  O,  is  it  not  a  shameful  degrading  of 
this,  the  glorious  mark  of  your  high  distinction,  when 
you  refuse  to  ratify  the  vow  of  your  allegiance? 
Is  it  not  a  vile  dishonouring  of  the  noble  insignia  of 
your  station,  when  you  refuse  to  live  as  becomes  it? 

0,  it  is  a  sad  reflection  that  so  many  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Christian  household,  differ  in  no  impor- 
tant feature,  from  the  children  of  the  wicked  one  ;. 
that  in  the  former,  there  should  be  so  many  points 
of  striking  analogy  to  the  latter.  It  is  melancholy 
to  think  that  the  badge  of  baptism,  is  the  sole 
'^mark  of  distinction"  between  them!  Let  it  not  be 
with  yourself!  Be  it  rather  your  manly  resolve,  and 
your  strenuous  endeavour,  to  honour,  and  adorn  the 
badge  of  your  station  !  Adopted  into  the  family  of 
a  noble  line,  with  what  veneration  would  you  regard 
its  proud  escutcheon  !  How  sensitive  would  you  be 
to  the  slightest  insult,  breathed  upon  its  armorial 
bearings!  How  jealously  tenacious  of  its  honour  ! 
And  shall  you  do  less,,  when  introduced  into  the  fami- 
ly of  the  King  of  kings? 

Another  consideration  will  show  that  you  are 
"  bound  to  believe  and  do,"  as  your  godparents 
promised  for  you. 

The  sign  of  Baptism,  it  will  be  remembered,  is 
an  evidence  and  token  of  your  Christiaiv  profes- 
sion ;  and  this  profession  affords  an  additional  obli- 
gation, by  which  you  are  urged  to  your  baptismal' 
duties. 

It  is  objected  that,,  this  profession  was  made  withr 


OBLIGATIONS.  135 

out  your  consent?  In  interposing  this  objection, 
you  are  perfectly  just  and  reasonable,  if  you  are 
prepared  to  substantiate  one  point, — namely,  that 
there  is  no  shadow  of  reason,  truth,  nor  justice  in 
your  baptismal  profession.  For,  if  there  be,  it  was 
not  without  the  most  perfect  propriety,  that  it  was 
avowed  on  your  behalf,  though  without  your  consent. 
You  must  be  prepared  to  disprove  every  article, 
which  it  embraces,— to  show  that,  we  are  under  no 
obligations  whatever,  to  "  die  to  sin,  and  rise  again 
unto  righteousness  ;  to  follow  the  example  of  our  Saviour 
Christ ;^^  nor,  to  '^  mortify  our  evil  a?id  corrupt  affec- 
tions.'' Your  objection  leaves  the  inference  that, 
you  discard  the  idea,  that  it  is  either  your  duty,  or 
your  interest,  so  to  do ;  or,  in  fewer  words,  that  you 
repudiate  the  profession  of  the  Christian  faith  ;  or, 
in  one  word,  that  you  acknowledge  yourself  to  be  a 
heathen  or  an  infidel. 

But,  if  you  admit  your  baptismal  profession,  and 
avow  the  sentiments  which  it  contains,  it  cannot 
be  objected  against,  on  the  grounds  whence  you  as- 
sail it,  namely,  that  it  was  made  for  you,  by  others, 
and  without  your  approbation.  And  this  admission 
of  its  truth  and  justice,  is  equivalent  to  the  acknowl- 
edgment that  you  are  '*  bound  to  believe  and  do" 
as  your  sponsors  promised  for  you.  For,  you  avow 
your  obligation  to  '^  die  to  sin ;'^  and  what  is  this 
but  a  renunciation  of  "  the  devil  and  all  his  works  5 
the  vain  pomp  and  glory  of  the  world,  with  all 
covetous  desires  of  the  same,  and  the  sinful  desires 


136  BAPTISMAL 

of  the  flesh  ?  You  assent  to  your  obligation  to  "  rise 
again  unto  righteousness  ;^'  and  what  is  this,  but 
beheving  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 
You  acknowledge  that  you  "  ougliV^  to  proceed^ 
daily,  "z?i  all  virtue  and  godliness  of  living  f  and 
what  is  this,  but  "obediently  to  keep  God's  holy 
will  and  commandments,  and  to  walk  in  the  same 
all  the  days  of  your  life  ?" 

Thus,  in  avowing  the  three  articles  of  your  baptis- 
mal profession,  you  assent  to  the  true  conditions  of 
the  Baptismal  Compact,  and  to  the  consequent  duty 
of  fulfilling  them.  "  If  ye  know  these  things,  hap- 
py are  ye,  if  ye  do  them !"  but  alas  for  him,  who, 
sinking  down  to  a  lower  depth  of  misery,  than  the: 
wretched  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  shall 
be  compelled  to  hear  the  upbraiding  reproach  for- 
ever grating  on  his  ear, — 

"  Ye  knew  your  duty,  but  ye  did  it  not." 

Your  baptismal  dedication  to  God,  presents  you 
with  another  motive,  all-powerful  in  urging  you  "to 
believe  and  do,  as  the  vows  of  the  Sacrament  re- 
quire. 

That  act  of  your  sponsors,  approved  and  sanction- 
ed by  your  own  parents,  gave  the  Almighty  a  claim 
upon  you.  Not  that  He  had  do  previous  claim.  But 
by  your  Baptism,  He  became  entitled  to  your  love 
and  to  your  service,  by  a  solemn  act,  on  the  part 
of  those,  most  anxious  for  your  welfare.     They  gave 


OBLIGATIONS.  13t 

you  up,  soul  and  body  to  Him.  They  woulci  not 
tarry  till  old  age  had  crippled  your  energies  of  mind 
or  of  body  ;  until  your  affections  were  chilled  by  con^ 
tact  with  the  world,  or  your  spirits  bowed  down,  be- 
neath a  burden  of  sorrows.  They  would  not  present 
the  blind,  the  lame,  nor  the  halt,  for  sacrifice.  No. 
They  bore  you  in  their  arms  to  God's  holy  temple, 
whilst  yet  a  little  child;  before  the  evil  days  had 
come,  and  '<  ere  vice  had  time  to  gain  upon  you," 
and  there,  in  the  holy  place  where  His  honour 
dwelleth,  they  solemnly  surrendered  you  to  Him  ; 
deeming  it  a  "  reasonable  service,^'' — presenting  you 
as  a  gift ;  a  gift,  w^hich  He  did  not  disdain  to  accept; 
and  in  receiving  which,  it  w^as  not  necessary  for 
Him,  to  compromise  the  dignity  of  His  character. 

"  The  flower  tho'  offer'd  in  the  bud, 
Was  no  vain  sacrifice." 

Belonging,  then,  by  such  a  peculiar  tenure,  io 
Almighty  God,  you  are  bound  to  renounce  all  that 
He  forbids ;  to  believe  all  that  He  reveals,  and 
strive  to  practice  all  that  He  commands. 

Consider,  moreover,  that  by  baptism,  you  were 
enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  by 
your  sponsors,  solemnly  enrolled  among  the  soldiers 
of  the  cross!  As  by  an  oath  of  allegiance,  through 
them,  you  swore  to  ^'  bear  faith  to  your  Sovereign 
Lord,  in  opposition  to  all  men  without  saving  or 
exception."      By  the  sanctity  of  your   vow,   you 


!38  BAPTISMAL 

are^bound  "  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  Him,  and 
truth  and  faith  to  bear  of  life  and  limb  and  earthly 
honour,  and  not  to  know  or  hear  of  any  ill  or  da- 
mage intended  him,  without  defending  him  there- 
from."* The  guardians  of  your  infancy,  knew  that 
you  could  not  serve  under  a  Sovereign,  more  lenient 
in  his  government,  more  considerate  in  his  requisitions, 
nor  more  mindful  of  the  welfare  of  his  subjects  ;  that 
vou  could  not  fight  under  a  better  Leader  ;  against  a 
more  hateful  foe,  nor  for  a  more  glorious  prize! 
They  know  your  inevitable  ruin,  if  you  should  en- 
list in  the  service  of  the  world,  and  sin,  and  Satan  ! 
They  knew  full  well  the  deceitfulness  and  treachery 
of  those  malicious  enemies  ;  that  although  you 
should  co-operate  with  them,  in  their  fierce  contest 
against  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  would,  neverthe- 
less, glory  in  your  destruction.  They  knew  that 
Satan,  whilst  he  waged  his  mad  warfare  against  the 
Church  of  God,  burned  at  the  same  time  with  a  fe- 
verish thirst,  for  the  blood  of  those  unhappy  men,  who 
were  marshalled  under  his  own  banner.  With  the 
eye  of  faith  they  beheld  the  crown  of  glory,  and  the 
white  robe,  and  the  victor's  palm  laid  up  in  heaven 
for  the  soldiers  of  Christ;  and  to  secure  for  you  that 
bright  reward,  on  the  one  hand  ;  and  to  save  you 
from  the  ignominious  defeat,  and  the  consequent  mi- 
sery, to  which  on  the  other  you  were  exposed  ;  they 
deemed  it  the  wisest  course  for  them  to  putsue,  to 

♦  Blackstone's  Comment.  D.  I.  Chap.  10. 


OBLIGATIONS.  139 

enlist  you  at  once,  in  early  infancy,  under  the  ban- 
ner of  the  cross ;  not  even  leaving  you  to  stand  upon 
neutral  ground,  v^rhere  they  knew  'twere  impossible 
for  you  to  stand  at  all. 

The  eloquent  Wilberforce  compares  this  act  of 
your  sponsors  to  that  of  Aiiiilcar,  who,  with  patriotic 
zeal,  took  Hannibal  his  son,  yet  a  child,  into  the 
temple,  and  swore,  in  his  name,  eternal  hostility  to 
the  enemies  of  Carthage.  "  After  the  same  mari- 
ner," says  he,  "  Christians  are  become  sworn  ene- 
mies of  sin  ;  they  will  henceforth  hold  no  parley 
with  it;  they  will  allow  it  no  shape;  they  will 
admit  it  to  no  composition  ;  the  war  which  they 
have  denounced  against  it  is  cordial,  universal,  ir- 
reconcileable.'^* 

O,  that  the  young  soldier  of  the  cross  would  be 
thus  true  to  the  Saviour's  cause !  O,  that  he 
would  thus  manfully  fight  against  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil !  Let  him  remember  that  the 
Christian  warfare  is  against  the  most  deadly  ene- 
mies; enemies  "which  war  against  the  soul ;"  that 
it  is  a  contest  ^Vith  the  bitterest  foes  of  the  best  of 
fathers ;  a  contest  for  holiness,  for  love,  for  liberty, 
for  justice,  for  heaven!  The  cause  of  Christ  is  a 
holy  cause  t  His  service,  a  holy  service,  blessed  in 
its  work,  and  glorious  in  its  reward  !  Never  let  it 
be  regarded  as  the  foes  of  the  Gospel  would  fain  re- 
present  it, — a  state  of  degrading  villanage,  or  cf 

*  Practical  View. 

13 


140  BAPTISMAL 

hard  and  insufferable  servitude  I  No.  It  is  free- 
dom.  It  is  more,  His  "  service  is  perfect  freedom,'* 
a  service  which  elevates,  ennobles,  and  purifies  the 
heart ! 

Never  let  the  young  soldier  be  forgetful  of  that 
hour,  in  which  his  name  was  enrolled  upon  the  glo- 
rious catalogue  of  saints,  and  martyrs,  and  apostles, 
and  prophets;  nor  of  that  solemn  deed,  by  which  he 
was — 

"  Duly  sworn, 

With  true  and  fearless  mind 

To  serve  the  virgin-born." 

Let  him  not  forget  that  "great  cloud  of  wit« 
nesses,"  intently  gazing  upon  the  sacred  font,  when 
he  was  there  consecrated  to  this  holy  service  I 
Christians  who  were  gathered  around  to  behold  the 
interesting  ceremony  !  angels  and  archangels  !  God, 
the  Almighty  Father  !  Jesus,  the  glorified  Redeem- 
er !  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  all  attesting  the  momen- 
tous transaction  !  Let  him  remember  the  sign  of 
the  holy  Cross,  then  written  upon  his  forehead, 
written  not  as  an  idle  ceremony,  but  as  a  token  that 
he  "  should  not  be  ashamed  to  confess  the  faith  of 
Christ  crucified,  and  manfully  to  fight  under  His  ban- 
ner !"  Let  the  remembrance  of  all  this  rouse  him 
from  his  unbecoming  attitude  of  listlessness  and  un- 
concern, and  give  no  sleep  to  his  eyes,  nor  slumber 
to  his  eyelids,  until  he  shall  avouch  the  Lord  to  be 
his  God  ! 


OBLIGATIONS.  141 

0,  if  he  be  not  now  contending  for  Christ  against 
his  enemies,  is  he  not  a  deserter  from  His  cause  ? 
If  he  "  adhere"  to  those  enemies,  and  by  his  words,, 
and  his  example,  persist  "in  giving  them  aid  and 
comfort,"  is  he  not  a  traitor  to  his  liege  Sovereign  ? 
If  he  refuse  to  believe  and  do  what  the  promise  of 
his  baptism  requires,  does  he  not  virtually  refuse  to 
acknowledge  his  allegiance  to  Almighty  God?  And 
is  not  that  agaiin  equivalent  to  the  bold  assertion^ 
that  he  will  not  obey  the  high  behests  of  the  Great 
Triune;  nor  defend  his  cause;  nor  fight  under  the 
banner  of  the  cross?  Is  it  not  tantamount  to  a  de- 
claration of  hostility — the  most  foolish,  the  most 
shameful,  the  most  wicked,  towards  each  person  of 
the  adorable  Godhead  ?  O,  I  shudder  to  think  how 
coolly  and  deliberately  he  lays  his  hand  upon  his 
forehead,  and  wipes  off  the  sign  of  the  hallowed 
cross!  But,  be  it  so !  If  he  is  not  a  manful  de- 
fender of  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  let  him  wipe 
the  sacred  symbol  from  his  brow !  It  is  not  meet 
that  it  should  there  remain  !  The  "  token"  is  dis- 
honoured, the  sign  of  the  cross  scandalized,  for  he 
is  '^  ashamed  to  confess  the  faith  of  Christ  crucified, 
and  manfully  to  fight  under  His  banner."  Let  it 
therefore  quickly  be  erased  !  Let  him  forever,  and 
effectually,  obliterate  all  traces  of  it  from  his  fore- 
head, for  such  a  token  should  not  remain  upon  the 
brow  of  him,  who  is  ashamed  of  Jesus ! 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OBLIGATIONS  OF  THE  BAPTIZED,  GROWING  OUT  OF  THE 
PRIVILEGES,  THE  FORMULA,  AND  THE  VOW  OF  THE 
SACRAMENT. 

Most  beautifully  and  truly  was  it  said  by  an  old 
commentator,  that  "  God  expects  vineyard-fruit 
from  those  vs'ho  enjoy  vmeyard-privileges.'^  That 
this  is  a  reasonable  expectation,  none,  I  presume, 
will  deny  ;  and  if  reasonable,  how  sad  the  disap- 
pointment, if  the  term  may  be  allowed,  when,  so- 
far  from  finding  vineyard-fruity  He  finds  no  fruit 
at  all! 

Gospel  privileges,  if  valued  and  improved,  become 
a  priceless  blessing  to  the  sou! ;  but,  if  slighted  and 
unimproved,  an  awful  curse;  "a  savour  of  death 
unto  death." 

By  every  consideration  which  they  can  possibly 
suggest  to  your  mind,  let  them  arouse  you  to  the 
importance,  and  press  upon  you  the  obligation  of 
bringing  forth,  immediately,  that  vineyard-fruit, 
which  the  great  Husbandman  expects;  and  thus, 
let  them  constrain  you  to  the  discharge  of  your  sa- 
cramental duties. 

12* 


14:4,  BAPTISMAL 

Baptism  has  already  been  shown  to  be  a  means  of 
grace;  a  channel,  through  which  the  Almighty 
vouchsafes  to  impart  His  spiritual  blessings  to  the 
soul.  When  you  determine  to  believe  and  do,  as 
your  sponsors  promised,  and  have  set  out  with  the 
firm  resolve,  there  is  a  larger  share  of  grace  im- 
parted to  you,  than  there  would  be  to  others,  enter- 
ing upon  the  work  of  their  salvation.  But  remem' 
her,  that  grace  will  never  flow  into  your  soul,  in  any 
copious  effusions,  until  you  manifest  some  desire  that 
it  should.  The  channel  may  be  opened,  but  the 
waters  may  not  be  there.  God  will  withhold  them, 
until  he  sees  that  you  are  thirsty,  and  desire  to  drink. 
Nevertheless,  the  channel  is  open,  and  your  high 
privilege,  indeed,  that  it  is !  In  the  work  of  religion 
you  may  have  as  many,  and  as  serious  difiiculties  to 
contend  with,  as  the  unbaptized  ;  but  then  you  have 
richer  encouragements  than  they ;  your  obstacles 
may  be  as  great  as  theirs,  but  the  grace  vouchsafed 
to  you  is  greater;  your  enemies  may  be  as  dreadful, 
but  the  powers  of  heaven  are  in  league  with  you ;. 
weaknesses  of  your  carnal  nature  may  be  as  great  as 
theirs,  but  there  is  an  all-powerful  spirit,  pledged,  in 
a  peculiar  manner,  to  help  your  infirmities !  How 
much  greater,  then,  is  the  guilt  of  your  iricligion, 
than  theirs  !  How  utterly  and  entirely  destitute  of 
all  excuse  and  palliation  is  your  refusal  to  confirm 
the  promise  and  vow  of  your  baptism  ! 

By  this  holy  sacrament,  moreover,  it  will  be  rc- 
i^embered,  you  become  affied;  to  Almighty  God,  ii^. 


ORLIGATIONS.  I%5 

a  new,  close,  and  exceedingly  interesting  relation- 
ship; a  relationship,  which,  whilst  it  enhances  your 
obligations  to  serve  him,  affords  you  the  most  lively 
encouragements,  and  the  most  brilhant  promises,  in 
His  service. 

The  very  claim  which  the  Almighty  has  upon 
your  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  must  make  Him  regard 
you  with  an  interest,  unequalled  by  any  which  is 
felt  in  the  unbaptized.  Nor  is  it  at  all  surprising, 
that  He  should  view  with  singular  feelings  of  tender- 
ness and  concern,  the  adopted  child  of  His  own  fa^ 
mily  ;  the  sworn  defender  of  His  own  cause  ;  and  the 
initiated  disciple  of  His  own  Son.  And  then,  there  is 
jour  covenant  relation  to  God  !  By  the  oath  of  a 
solemn  compact,  originating  with  Himself,  He  is 
pledged  to  become  your  Father,  your  Saviour,  your 
everlasting  portion,  and  your  God  !  0,  it  can  never 
be,  that  He  should  turn  away  from  you  with  indif- 
ference and  unconcern !  Feelings  of  tenderest  re- 
gard, and  of  deepest  solicitude,  must  be  cherished  on 
your  behalf;  and  as  there  is  no  forgetfulness  with 
God,  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning,  it 
snust  be  with  an  interest  subject  to  no  abatement,  to 
no  interruption.  With  good  reason,  therefore,  may 
you  calculate  upon  a  large  measure  of  His  grace, — 
a  measure,  proportionate  to  the  regard  which  He 
entertains  for  His  covenant  people,  when  endeavour- 
ing to  comply  with  the  requisitions  of  your  Baptism. 

Not  the  least  of  your  sacramental  privileges,  con- 
sists in  having  your  title,  hereby  secured,  to.the  richi. 


146  BAPTISMAL 

est  of  all  possessions.  It  was  signed  by  God's  own 
Ambassador  ;  sealed  with  His  own  seal  ;  secured  by 
His  own  oath,  and  confirmed  in  His  own  covenant. 
Early  were  you  taught  to  regard  yourself,  as  ''an 
inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;"  but  now  it  is 
time  to  learn  that,  a  compliance  with  your  baptis- 
mal engagements  is  necessary  to  make  good  your 
title,  to  that  inheritance.  This  title,  like  many 
others  of  a  secular  nature,  is  a  conditional  one, 
and  the  conditions  are,  just  what  your  godparents 
promised   you  should  believe  and  do. 

The  faithfulness  of  God  is  pledged  to  bestow  the 
covenant  blessing  upon  you,  and  sooner  shall  heaven 
and  earth  pass  away,  than  one  tittle  of  His  word 
shall  fail. 

You  have  here  a  delightful  encouragement,  and 
a  weighty  obligation,  both  urging  you  to  perform 
your  part  of  the  compact.  God  "is  not  man  that 
he  should  lie,  neither  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should 
repent;  hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it? — or, 
hath  he  spoken  and  shall  he  not  make  it  sure?"  So 
great  is  His  faithfulness  that  David  says  it  "  reach- 
eth  unto  the  clouds," — so  sure,  that  Moses  says,  it 
lasts  *' to  a  thousand  generations." 

God  has,  of  His  own  most  gracious  will  and  accord, 
entered  into  this  compact  with  you,  and  while  He 
holds  you  bound  to  comply  with  the  conditions;  He 
holds  Himself  pledged, — with  reverence  be  it  spoken, 
to  bestow  upon  you,  for  Jesus' sake,  the  blessing  which; 
the  compact  was  designed  to  secure. 


OBLIGATIONS.  147 

Let  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  impair  the  confi- 
dent assurance,  which  this  faithfulness  should  in- 
spire !  On  the  record  of  His  immutable  word  you 
may  rely,  that  "  He  will  ever  be  mindful  of  His 
covenant;"  and  on  the  evidence  of  facts,  you  may 
hope  that,  as  He  was  faithful  to  others  so  He  will,  in 
like  manner,  be  faithful  to  you. 

The  promise  to  Abraham  was, — '^I  will  be  their 
God."  Now  mark  the  blessings  which  this  covenant- 
promise  procuredj^blessings,  which,  as  they  were 
not  specified,  not  positively  extended  in  it,  served  to 
render  God's  faithfulness  the  more  conspicuous,  and 
His  regard  for  His  covenant-people,  the  more  re- 
markable. 

When  the  children  of  Abraham  were  bowed  down 
beneath  the  oppressive  yoke  of  Egyptian  bondage, 
"  God  heard  their  groaning."  And  why  ?  He  did 
not  engage  in  His  covenant  to  do  so.  Yet,  it  is  ex- 
pressly declared,  that,  the  reason  why  He  did  lend 
an  ear  to  their  groaning,  was  because  He  "  remem- 
bered His  covenant  loith  Mraham^  with  Isaac, 
and  with  Jacoh.^''  (Ex.  ii.  24)  See  Deut.  vii.  8,  9. 

To  deliver  them  from  their  galling  and  oppressive 
servitude.  He  sent  His  dreadful  plagues  upon  Pha- 
raoh, and  upon  his  servants.  He  divided  seas  before 
them.  In  the  wilderness.  He  conducted  them  by  a 
pillar  of  fire.  When  they  were  hungry,  "  he  brought 
quails,  and  satisfied  them  with  the  bread  of  heaven." 
When  they  were  thirsty,  "  he  opened  the  rock  and 
the  waters  gushed  out ;  they  ran  in  the  dry  places 


148  BAPTISMAL 

like  a  river."  *'  He  suffered  no  man  to  do  them 
wrong  :  yea,  he  reproved  kings  for  their  sakes." 
And  why  ?  He  did  not  engage  in  his  covenant  to  do 
so.  Yet  it  is  expressly  declared  that,  it  was  all  on 
account  of  His  covenant  with  their  fathers: — ^^  For 
he  remembered  his  holy  prornise,  and  Mraham 
his  servant.''^  See  Psalm  cv.  8 — 42.  And  finally, 
when  Joshua  led  the  armies  of  Israel  into  the  pro- 
mised land,  and  took  possession,  he  said  to  the  children 
of  xA.braham, — "  Ye  know  in  all  your  hearts  and  in 
all  your  souls,  that  not  one  thing  hath  failed  of  all 
the  good  things,  which  the  Lord  your  God  spake  con- 
cerning you  :  all  are  come  to  pass  unto  you,  and  not 
one  thing  hath  failed  thereof"  And  yet,  this  was 
upwards  of  four  hundred  years  after  the  covenant 
with  Abraham. 

He  promised,  moreover,  to  become  the  God  of 
Abraham,  and  of  his  faithful  children.  To  show 
that  He  redeemed  his  pledge,  and  to  give  a  lasting 
memorial  of  His  faithfulness.  He  proclaims  Himself 
to  be  "  THE  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac  and 
THE  God  of  Jacob;"  and  expressly  declares,  this, 
to  be  the  very  reason,  why  He  calls  Himself  by  this 
name.  See  Exod.  iii.  15.  Hence  also,  you  see 
the  meaning  of  that  designation,  so  frequently  oc- 
curring throughout  the  Sacred  Volume,  "  thy  God  ;" 
"  the  Lord  thy  God."  One  reason  of  its  fre- 
quent repetition,  unquestionably  is,  to  keep  alive  in 
the  bosoms  of  His  people,  the  memorial  of  His  faith- 
fulness, in  performing  His  covenant-promise. 


OBLIGATIONS.  149 

This  promise,  moreover,  included  the  gift  of  eter- 
nal life.  Did  God  bestow  the  gift  of  eternal  life 
upon  the  fathers?  He  did; — for  long  after  those 
holy  men  were  dead.  He  continued  to  call  Himself 
"their  God"  and,  He  ^^  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead, 
but  of  the  living.''^ 

Here,  then,  in  this  well-attested  faithfulness,  is 
your  encouragement !  It  speaks  the  blessed  assur- 
ance to  your  bosom,  that  the  Lord  will  become  your 
God  also ! 

And  now  for  the  weighty  obligation,  hereby  im- 
posed. The  plighted  faithfulness  of  your  covenant- 
God,  whilst  it  gently  moves  you  as  in  tones  of  sweet- 
est music,  should  arouse  and  alarm  you,  as  with  peals 
of  thunder.  In  one  case  it  should  operate  upon  you, 
by  motives,  softly  persuasive  ;  in  the  other,  by  mo- 
tives, powerfully  compulsive.  This  will  appear  from 
a  single  remark, — that  the  stronger  the  assurance 
of  salvation,  which  the  Almighty  extends,  the 
iieavier  is  our  obligation  to  accede  to  the  terms. 
The  greater  the  security,  the  greater  the  sin  when 
it  is  slighted.  And  what  greater  security  could  be 
given,  than  that  afforded  us  in  the  Sacrament  of  Bap- 
tism? Here  is  the  express  promise  of  the  great 
Jehovah,  to  become  your  God ;  more  than  a  promise, 
it  is  an  oath  ;  more  than  a  simple  oath,  it  is  a  cove- 
nant-oath, and  that  too,  strengthened  and  supported 
by  one  essential  attribute  of  the  Deity, — His  faith- 
fulness ;  and  sealed  with  a  seal  of  His  own  appoint- 
ment.   Thus,  you  have  the  strongest  possible  assur- 


150  BAPTISMAL 

ance,  that  the  Lord  will  become  your  God  ;  that  He 
will  visit  you  with  riches  of  His  grace ;  and  finally 
admit  you  into  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance.  How  greatly  is  the  force  of 
your  obligation  to  believe  and  do,  what  your  spon- 
sors promised,  strengthened  hereby?  Should  you 
refuse,  thus  to  "  believe  and  do,^  how  manifestly 
do  you  become,  by  this  suicidal  neglect,  the  authoi* 
of  your  own  destruction  ! 

And,  remember  !  I  earnestly  beseech  you,  that 
whilst,  as  a  covenant-child  of  God,  you  are  doubly 
assured,  by  His  covenant-oath,  of  an  eternal  inheri- 
tance; you  are,  nevertheless,  if  unfaithful,  doubly- 
assured  by  an  oath,  of  an  eternal  exclusion  from 
that  inheritance.  It  is  an  oath,  yes^  more  than  a  sim- 
ple declaration  of  your  doom,  an  oath,  that  you 
shall  not  enter  into  the  rest  of  heaven,  unless  you 
comply  with  the  grand  condition  of  the  agreement, 
for,  *'  to  ivhoin  sware  he  that  they  should  not 
enter  into  his  rest,  hut  to  them  that  believe  not  ?^^ 

From  these  important  considerations,  it  becomes 
your  bounden  duty  to  believe  and  do  as  your  spon^ 
sors  promised  for  you;  to  take  the  Baptismal  Com- 
pact into  your  own  hands ;  with  your  own  voice^ 
and  by  your  own  act,  to  make  the  vows  your  own  ; 
to  assent  to  the  conditions  and  perform  them. 

Another  motive  to  this  duty,  as  animating  in  the 
encouragement  which  it  extends,  and  as  imperative 
in  the  obligation  which  it  imposes,  may  be  found  in 
the  formula  of  this  sacred  rite  ; — "  Baptizing  them 


OBLIGATIONS.  151 

in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ohost."  We  may  reasonably  believe  and  con- 
fidently hope  that,  as  this  is  done  by  the  authority  of 
the  Son  of  God  himself,— the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost  all  become,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  interested 
in  those  who  are  thus  baptized  ;  and  consequently, 
that  each  Person  of  the  adorable  Godhead  is  pecu- 
liarly willing  to  bless  them  in  the  work  of  Salvation, 
according  to  their  respective  offices, — the  Father  to 
pardon;  the  Son  to  redeem;  the  Spirit  to  aid,  pro- 
tect and  sanctify. 

With  the  baptized  they  are  connected  by  ties  of 
BO  common  relationship,  and  their  eternal  welfare, 
they  are  all  engaged  to  promote.  The  honour  of 
the  adorable  Trinity  is  pledged.  For  in  God's  own 
way;  according  to  His  own  direction;  under  His 
own  authority  ;  in  His  own  name ;  and  under  a  seal 
of  His  own  appointment,  they  were  brought  into  this 
covenant  engagment  with  Him. 

But  remember,  that  as  the  honour  of  each  per- 
son of  the  Godhead,  is  thus  pledged  to  advance  your 
spiritual  welfare,  when  you  manifest  a  disposition  to 
ratify  your  sacramental  vows,— so  in  like  manner, 
that  same  honour  demands  your  destruction  should 
you  fail  to  do  so. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  moreover,  that  as  you 
were  baptized  into  this  hallowed  name,  you  are, 
hereby,  obligated  to  receive  each  person,  as  revealed 
in  the  Sacred  Volume, — to  "  believe  in  God,  the 
Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth;"  in 
13 


152  BAPTISMAL 

Jesus  Christ,  your  Redeemer,  as  co-equal  and  co- 
eternal  with  the  Father;  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost? 
your  Sanctifier,  as  one  "  who  with  the  Father  and 
the  Son  together  is  w^orshipped  and  glorified."  Con- 
sistently with  this  baptism,  your  mind  can  entertain 
no  heretical  opinions  upon  these  vitally  important 
points.  Discard  this  belief,  and  you  annul  your 
baptism,  with  all  its  honours,  privileges  and  blessings  ! 
But  if  you  would  retain  them,  you  must  embrace 
these,  the  fundamental  "articles  of  the  Christian 
Faith,"  not  only  in  your  understanding,  but  in  your 
heart  also ;  and  throughout  your  whole  life  must 
worship,  honour  and  serve  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Thus  do  we  gather,  from  the  formula  of  your  Bap- 
tism, other  considerations  which  declare  it  to  be  your 
interest  and  your  duty,  to  renounce  what  God  for- 
bids ;  to  believe  what  he  reveals ;  and  practice  what 
he  commands. 

Apart  from  all  this,  there  yet  remains  the  weigh- 
tiest obligation  of  all, — one,  imposed  by  nothing  less 
than  a  vow  given  to  Almighty  God. 

But  the  important  question,  which,  after  all,  is 
the  hinge  upon  which  this  most  sacred  obligation 
turns,  meets  us  at  the  outset — How  is  a  child  bound 
by  a  vow  or  promise,  made  for  him  without  his  con- 
sent? The  Church  Catechism  says  "which  promise, 
v/hen  they  come  to  age,  themselves  are  bound  to  per- 
form."    Here  I  must  be  permitted  to  enlarge  upon 


OBLIGATIONS.  15^ 

a  subject  previously  hinted  at,*  namely,  the  right  of 
the  parent  to  obligate  his  child.  If  this  can  be  es- 
tablished the  duty  of  the  latter  is  plain,  and  must 
stand  out  in  bold  relief,  arresting  his  attention,  and 
calling  for  a  faithful  compliance. 

Now  I  do  not  affirm  that  an  individual  would 
he  hound  by  any  vow,  which  his  parent  might 
choose  to  lay  upon  him,  during  the  period  of  his 
infancy.  Two  conditions  must  attach  to  it  before 
it  can  possess  any  degree  of  binding  force : — first, 
that  it  require  nothing  but  what  is  in  perfect  accord- 
ance with  the  strictest  principles  of  truth  and  justice  : 
Secondly,  that  some  valuable  benefit  be  thereby  se- 
cured. Can  you,  now,  advance  a  solitary  objection 
against  the  vow  of  baptism,  which  militates  against 
either  of  these  conditions? 

What  did  your  sponsors  bind  you  to  do, — an  inju- 
rious thing  ? 

There  is  a  deceitful  enemy,  and  a  deceitful  world, 
and  a  deceitful  heart,  which  may  possibly  attempt  to 
impress  you  with  that  idea : — and,  indeed,  in  a  cer- 
tain sense,  it  may  prove  injurious.  It  may  expose 
you  to  scoffs  and  ridicule, — to  "  trials  of  cruel  mock- 
ings,"  from  your  ungodly  associates.  It  may  check 
your  avidity  in  the  accumulation  of  earthly  riches. 
It  may  curb  you,  in  the  eager  pursuit  of  worldly  ap- 
plause.    It  may  call  for  painful  mortification  of  the 

*  I  must  beg  the  reader  to  turn  to  page  85  for  several  other  con-^ 
sideratious  which  canaot  be  repeated  here. 


i'5-4  BAPTISMAL 

flesh;  for  self-denial,  which  will  materially  interfere- 
with  the  gratification  of  your  carnal  appetites;  and 
in  this  sense  it  may  prove  injurious.  But,  it  is  for 
yourself  to  determine,  wiiether  eternal  life ;  the 
favour  of  God  ;  and  redemption  from  the  curse  of 
sin,  be  a  sufficient  counter-balance  for  these  short- 
lived and  sinful  gratifications. 

What,  then,  did  they  bind  you  to  do,— an  un- 
reasonable  thing  1 

If,  to  renounce  the  enemies  of  your  soul,  and; 
the  foes  of  your  God,  be  an  unreasonable  thing,  we 
must  answer  in  the  affirmative.  If  the  service  of 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  be  a  "reasonable 
service,"  then,  we  must  adm,it  that,  it  was  exceed- 
ingly unreasonable  to  enlist  you,  in  a  uncompromising 
warfare  against  them. 

If  the  word  of  God  cannot  rightfully  challenge 
your  credence; — if  it  be  destitute  of  all  credibility  ; 
and  if  His  commands  be  grievous  and  exorbitant 
requisitions  ;  certainly,  then,  they  bound  you  to  do- 
what  reason  would  not  sanction. 

Here  then  is  your  only  alternative  !  You  are  com- 
pelled to  embrace  and  defend  this  hypothesis,  or  else 
admit  the  reasonableness  of  your  Baptismal  vows. 
In  rejecting  the  one,  you  choose  the  other.  Which 
do  you  reject  ? 

The  discharge  of  your  baptismal  vows,  whilst  it 
is  of  vital  consequence,  so  far  as  your  future  welfare 
is  concerned,  does  not  at  all  conflict  with  your  tempo- 
ral enjoyment.     You  are  not  required  to  abandon 


OBLIGATIONS.  156 

harmless  pleasure,  nor  the  industrious  pursuit  of  your 
calling  ;  nor  lawful  elTorts  to  improve  your  property, 
but  only  those  things,  which  do  not  comport  with 
the  holy  service  of  your  God  and  Saviour,  and  which 
cannot  be  entered  upon  with  impunity  ;  those 
pleasures,  and  those  employments,  in  which 

«  The  pearl  of  the  soul  may  be  melted  away." 

Bear  in  mind,  moreover,  that  what  your  sponsors 
stipulated  on  your  behalf,  w^ere  the  only  terms  upon 
which  you  could  possibly  receive  the  blessing  of  the 
covenant,  which,  as  we  have  already  shown,  em- 
braces every  needful  good  for  eternity.  They  are 
terms,  laid  down  by  the  offended  God  himself,  the 
party  w^ho,  alone,  has  any  right  to  propose  condi- 
tions. We  are  rebel  subjects — have  broken  His 
law;  have  forfeited  all  right  and  title  to  His  favour, 
and  must  be  mute,  it  is  for  Him,  the  God  of  all  the 
earth,  to  say  how  His  rebel  subjects  may  be  restored, 
and  if  He  consent  to  remit  the  merited  punishment, 
and  receive  us  again,  as  His  children,  upon  any 
terms,  0  how  gladly  should  we  accede  to  them,  and 
how  grateful  should  we  be  ! 

If  then,  to  renounce  what  God  forbids ;  to  believe 
what  he  reveals;  and  to  practice  tvhat  He  com- 
mands, be  neither  injurious^  nor  unreasonable  ;  if  it 
be  directly  the  reverse,  greatly  beneficial  and  alto- 
gether reasonable,  your  godparents  possessed  the 
unquestionable  right  to  lay  upon  you  the  vow  of  bap^ 
tism. 

13* 


156  BAPTISMAL 

The  common  concerns  of  life  afford  some  apt  il^- 
lustrations  of  the  exercise  of  a  similar  right,  in  cases 
precisely  analagous.  I  might  refer  to  that  of  a  guar- 
dian, entering  into  a  stipulation  on  behalf  of  his 
ward  ;  but  the  simplest  case  of  civil  contracts  will 
answer  my  purpose  better  ;  [  refer  to  contracts  of 
apprenticeship.  The  right  of  a  parent  thus  to  bind 
his  child,  has  never  been  questioned.  There  are 
Gases  in  which  an  indifferent  person,  in  no  way  con- 
nected with  the  child,  is  empowered  by  law  <'to 
bind  him  where  he  shall  see  convenient  until  the  age 
of  twenty-one."  And  why  ?  Because  it  is  for  the 
interest  of  the  child  himself;  it  is  reasonable,  and  it 
is  just.  And  is  not  the  child,  in  such  case,  obligated 
by  the  indenture  of  his  parent  or  friend  ?  Are  not 
all  his  services,  his  time,  his  talents,  his  skill  ''  the 
profit  and  emoluments  of  his  labour,"  hereby,  and; 
without  his  consent  or  approbation,  secured  to 
another? 

If,  then,  the  right  of  the  parent  be  admitted  in 
one  case,  it  must  be  in  the  other  also.  If  he  may 
give  any  vow  whatever,  in  the  name  of  his  child,  or 
bind  him  by  the  articles  of  any  agreement,  he  may, 
with  far  greater  propriety,  bind  him  by  those  of 
baptism.  Th^  obligations  of  the  child  which,  in  the 
former  case  have  never  been  questioned,  are,  in  the 
latter,  equally  beyond  the  reach  of  a  denial.  The 
same  considerations  enforce  them  in  either  case  with 
this  marked  distinction,  that  in  the  Baptismal  Sacrar 
ment,  where  Almighty  God  is,  in  merciful  condescend 


OBLIGATIONS.  157 

sion,  a  party  in  the  contract ;  where  there  is  most 
pointed  reference  to  the  future  destiny  of  the  im- 
mortal soul ;  to  interests,  against  which  the  inte- 
rests of  time  should  never  once  be  weighed, — the  ob- 
ligations are  far  more  sacred,  and  less  easily  evaded. 

Had  your  parents  contracted  a  thousand  agree- 
ments for  you  in  your  infancy,  and  had  they  secured 
thereby  as  many  rich  advantages,  they  could  not  have 
made  one  more  reasonable,  in  its  conditions ;  more 
desirable  in  its  advantages  ;  nor  richer  in  the  good 
secured,  than  that  of  baptism. 

But  there  is  one  consideration,  which  settles  the 
right  of  your  sponsors,  to  lay  the  vow  of  the  sacra- 
ment upon  you,  and  which  justifies  the  Church,  in 
declaring  that  you  are  bound  to  perform  it.  It  is- 
this, — that  the  vow  of  baptism  calls  for  nothing 
more,  than  what  you  would  have  been  bound  to  do, 
even  were  there  no  vow.  The  Almighty  does  not 
impose  upon  you  heavy  burdens,  from  which  the  un- 
baptized  are  exonerated;  nor  duties  from  which 
they  are  released.  He  does  not  make  a  solitary  re- 
quirement of  you,  which  He  does  not  make  of  them. 
The  only  difference  is,  that  you,  by  your  baptism^, 
are  laid  under  additional  obligations,  to  perform 
certain  duties,  which  devolve  upon  all  mankind. 
Your  sponsors,  by  giving  the  sacramental  vow^  in 
your  name,  desired  to  ensure,  by  the  strongest  pos- 
sible security,  your  faithful  discharge  of  these  duties. 

Now  put  all  these  considerations  together,  and 
see  \%  hj  any  mode  of  reasoning,  you  can  release 


158  BAPTISMAL 

yourself  from  the  promise  and  vow  of  your  baptism. 
Here  is  the  natural  right  of  your  parents,  and  the 
vested  right  of  your  sponsors,  to  lay  that  vow  upon 
you.  Here  is  the  authority  of  the  word  of  God,, 
sanctioning  the  exercise  of  this  right.*  Here  is  the 
nature  of  the  vow,  demanding  not  one  thing  injuri- 
ous, unreasonable,  nor  unjust;  not  one  thing,  against 
which  the  unbiassed  judgment  can  advance  the 
smallest  valid  objection  ;  not  one  thing,  which  would 
not  have  been  obligatory  upon  you,  even  had  no 
vow  been  given  ;  and  here  is  the  priceless  blessing 
secured,  of  having  the  Lord  for  your  God !  Now 
we  ask,  if  this  reasonable,  just,  interesting,  holy  and 
beneficial  vow,  honoured  by  the  Church  in  all  ages, 
sanctioned  by  the  approval,  and  commanded  by  the 
authority  of  Almighty  God,  do  not  solemnly  demand 
a  compliance  with  the  requisitions  of  your  baptism  ? 
The  evil  heart  may  demur,  but  the  evil  heart  is 
^^  deceitful  above  all  thin g ft  f'  its  whisperings, 
therefore,  must  not  be  listened  to,  but  with  the 
most  suspicious  and  wary  scepticism. 

Will  you  attempt  to  impair  the  force  of  these  ob- 
ligations, by  affirming  that  your  parents  and  spon- 
sors were  insincere,  when  they  presented  you  for 
baptism  ;  or  that  they  simply  designed  it,  as  a  token 
of  respect  for  religion  ;  or  as  a  compliance  with  long 
established  usage  ? 

To  say  nothing  of  the  charge  of  basest  hypocrisy, 
which  you  thus  throw  against  your  parents  and  best. 

*  Page   85. 


OBLIGATIONS.  1S9 

friends,  and  without  stopping  to  inquire  into  the 
Fight,  by  which  you  become  the  judge  of  their  mo- 
tives, we  may  sift  the  objection  and  learn  its  W'orth. 

We  will,  therefore,  contrary  to  every  thing  w^hicb 
the  Church  pre-supposes,  admit  the  fact  of  their  in- 
sincerity, and  all  that  you  affirm  respecting  the  un- 
w^orthiness  of  their  motives.  But  how  does  all  this 
affect  your  duty? 

The  profession,  the  promise  and  vow  are  the  same 
whatever  may  have  been  their  intention. 

Would  the  Jew,  who  was  circumcised  at  the  in- 
stance of  ungodly  parents,  have  been  released  from 
the  obligations  then  laid  upon  him  ?  Nay,  would  he 
have  desired  this  release  ?  When  he  remembered 
that,  by  a  faithful  discharge  of  them,  the  best  of 
blessings  were  secured ;  when  hope  pourtrayed  the 
promise  of  the  covenant,  in  all  its  richness,  and 
beauty,  and  value ;  would  he  have  sought  to  extri- 
cate himself  from  the  vow,  by  pleading  the  impu- 
nity of  motive,  or  the  insincerity  of  purpose,  on  the 
part  of  those  who  were  the  means  of  introducing  him 
into  that  covenant? 

If  by  such  a  plea,  you  hope  to  evade,  and  do  ac- 
tually renounce,  the  obligations  of  your  baptism,, 
you  must  consent  that  your  offended  Judge  shall,  on 
the  same  grounds,  and  for  the  same  reason,  refuse  to 
become  your  Saviour,  your  Father,  and  your  ever- 
lasting portion  !  If  you  think  to  be  released,  by  any 
such  considerations,  from  performing  your  part  of 
this  blessed  and  glorious  compact,  you  must  agree 


160  BAPTISMAL 

that  your  covenant-God  shall  be  released  by  those 
same  considerations,  from  performing  His.  When, 
from  pity  to  your  wretchedness,  and  in  condescen- 
sion to  your  weakness,  He  obligates  himself  by 
oath  to  save  and  bless  you,  O  it  is  folly,  and  mad- 
ness, and  shameful  ingratitude,  thus  lightly  to  esteem, 
and  thus  daringly  to  trifle  with,  the  security  which 
He  gives  you  ! 


OBLIGATIONS.  161 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CONCLUSION. 


From  the  considerations  which  have  now  passed 
l3efore  you,  I  humbly,  and  most  sincerely  trust,  you 
will  be  impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of  your  baptis- 
mal responsibilities. 

By  motives,  drawn  from  the  relation  which  you 
sustain  to  your  sponsors,  to  the  Christian  Church, 
and  to  your  God ;  relations  of  the  most  lovely,  inte- 
resting, and  enviable  kind;  by  your  high  and  dis- 
tinctive privileges  ;  by  the  sacred  and  sublime  for- 
mula of  your  baptism  ;  and  by  the  covenant  oath  do 
those  considerations  send  their  appeal  to  your  con- 
science! Silent,  respecting  the  golden  promise,  the 
brilliant  allurements  which  it  presents,  and  the  in- 
estimable blessings  with  which  it  is  laden,  they  urge 
you  to  perform  the  conditions  of  the  covenant,  by 
motives  of  a  more  serious  and  solemn  nature  ;  nor 
can  their  voice  be  unheard,  nor  their  appeal  disre- 
garded, without  the  most  fatal  consequences. 

Your  investiture  with  baptismal  honours  and  pri- 
vileges, affording  as  it  does,  so  many  inducements  to 
a  holy  life,  would  only  serve  to  aggravate  the  guilt 


16%  BAPTISMAL 

of  your  unfaithfulness,  to  render  the  depravity  of 
your  heart  more  conspicuous,  and  your  everlasting 
destruction  more  certain.  For,  with  great  truth 
has  it  been  said,  that  ^'  every  thing  which  you 
might  have  been  the  better  for,  if  you  had  made  a 
good  use  of  it,  you  will  be  the  worse  for,  if  you  make 
a  bad  one.*  Thou  Capernaum  which  art  exalted  unto 
heaven,  shall  be  brought  down  to  hell !"  The  guilt  of 
unimproved  privileges, — ^^0  how  shocking !  Have 
you  ever  measured  its  magnitude,  or  calculated  its 
exceeding  sinfulness?  Turn  to  the  accursed  cities  of 
the  plain,  and  by  their  guilt,  estimate  your  own  ! 
See  them  abandoned  to  the  most  shocking  unclean- 
ness !  and  sunk  in  the  mire  of  the  most  horrible 
depravity  !  See  the  impious  daring  with  which 
they  set  at  nought  the  laws  of  virtue,  and  mo- 
rality, and  order  and  justice!  Hear  their  blas- 
phemies and  imprecations,  enough  to  turn  the  cheek 
of  darkness  pale  !  The  cry  of  their  wickedness  goes 
up  to  heaven  !  The  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  grieved 
and  ofiended,  and  incensed,  can  endure  it  no  longer. 
Mercy  and  Pity,  weeping,  turn  away  from  the  de- 
voted cities  ; — abandoning  them  to  their  doom.  The 
vengeance  of  heaven,  descends  in  showers  of  fire  and 
brimstone  upon  them,  and  "  the  smoke  of  the  coun- 
try goeth  up  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace." 

Do  you  start  back,  appalled,  at  such  a  signal  exhi- 
hition  of  the  wrath  of  God? — and  do  you  shudder 

■*  Archbishop  Seeker. 


OBLIGATIONS.  163 

at  the  contemplation  of  their  awful  wickedness? 
Pause  for  a  moment !  There  is  a  sin  more  hateful 
to  God  than  this  ; — and  there  is  guilt,  in  enormity, 
far  surpassing  theirs  !  That  sin  may  lie  at  thy 
door,  and  that  guilt  may  be  thine  !  Privileges  un- 
improved,— means  of  grace  despised,— offers  of 
mercy  rejected, — the  Gospel  of  Salvation  refused, 
may  all  appear  against  you  at  the  day  of  judgment. 
And  what,  if  they  should?  "I  say  unto  you  that 
it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom, 
than  for  thee  !'^  What ! — more  tolerable  for  those 
abandoned,  depraved,  and  wicked  people  than  for 
thee  !  O  believe  it,  if  their  guilt  were  greater  than 
thine,  God  would  not  punish  them  less !  Thy  sin  is 
more  aggravated, — thine  insult  more  offensive,  and 
therefore,  thy  punishment  "  is  greater  than  the 
punishment  of  the  sin  of  Sodom."  Loaded  with  bap- 
tismal distinctions,  privileges,  promises  and  en- 
couragements, how  must  the  soul  sink  into  the  deep- 
est anguish  ! 

To  aggravate  your  guilt  to  a  still  greater  extent, 
and  fill  the  cup  of  sorrow  to  the  brim,  there  is  the 
Church  of  Christ,  dishonoured  ;  her  faithful  disciples 
grieved  to  the  heart ;  the  Christian  profession  dis- 
carded; your  dedication  to  Almighty  God,  thrown 
to  the  winds ;  your  enlistment  in  the  Saviour's 
cause,  contemned;  the  holy  Sacrament,  treated 
with  scorn  ;  the  sacred  vow,  broken  ;  and  each  per- 
son of  the  adorable  Godhead  impiously  denied,  dis- 
obeyed, and  dishonoured  by  your  life. 
14 


164  BAPTISMAL 

Says  an  eminent  writer,* — "According  to  thd 
plainest  dictates  of  human  reason,  the  malignity  of 
the  action  must  rise  in  proportion  to  the  authority 
and  excellency  of  the  party  offended,  and  the  of- 
fender's relations  and  obligations  to  him/'  Ponder 
this,  I  beseech  you !  and  learn  from  hence  the  ma- 
lignity of  your  refusal  to  renounce,  believe,  and  prac- 
tice, what  your  covenant-God  commands.  Only 
see  what  complicated  guilt  is  here, — the  guilt  of 
ingratitude  and  of  treason  ;  of  disobedience,  and  of 
robbery ;  of  unbelief,  and  of  insult  heaped  upon  every 
attribute  of  the  Deity.  O,  if  you  should  go  down  to  the 
grave,  with  such  accumulated  guilt  resting  upon  you, 
what  must  be  the  consequence  ?  If  summoned  to  the 
barof  judgment,  withsuch  tremendous  charges  alleged 
against  you,  what  must  be  your  doom?  The  Father, 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  all  equally  offended,  will 
rise  up,  and  with  one  voice  condemn  you  to  outer 
darkness  !  Far  better  on  that  awful  day  would  it  be 
for  the  poor  heathen  beside  you,  upon  whose  fore- 
head, no  baptismal  seal  was  ever  placed.  No  curses 
are  there,  so  pregnant  with  the  wrath  of  God,  as 
the  "  curses  of  the  covenant,'^  for,  with  all  their 
tremendous,  and  augmented  weight,  they  must  de- 
scend upon  the  guilty  ;  mitigated  by  no  palliating  cir- 
cumstances, but  heated  seven-foid  by  every  conside- 
ration which  could  make  them  terrible.  Dreadful 
was  the  wrath,  denounced  against  the   unfaithful 

•   Dr.  ScoU's  Works,  vol.  iv.  p.  32. 


OBLIGATIONS.  165 

Jews! — plagues  and  sickness  to  scourge  their  bodies; 
brimstone,  fire  and  desolation  to  scourge  their  fields 
and  vineyards;  and  then  the  Lord  would  root  them 
out  of  tke  land  in  anger,  in  wrath,  and  in  great  in- 
dignation, and  cast  them  into  another  land.  And 
when  it  should  be  asked,  "  What  meaneth  the  heat 
of  this  great  anger?" — Men  should  say,  and  mark 
the  answer! — ^^  Because  they  have  forsaken  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers.^' 
(Deut.  xxix.  24,  25.) 

O,  then,  delude  yourself  with  no  vain  hope  of  sal- 
vation, whilst  living  in  daily  violation  and  contempt 
of  this  sacred  compact  !  That  you  are  a  child  of  the 
Christian  family,  may  be  true,  but,  like  certain  of 
old,  you  may  be  among  those  "  children  in  whom  is 
710  faith."  That  you  are  a  plant  of  the  vineyard  of 
the  Lord,  may  be  true  ;  but,  like  others  in  that  vine- 
yard, you  may  be  "  a  root  that  beareth  gall  and 
wormwood.'^  (Deut.  xxix.  18.)  Like  Israel  of  old, 
you  may  be  among  those  whom  Christ  regarded  as  *'  his 
ozun,"  but  as  of  them,  so  of  you,  may  it  be  said,  ^^  his 
own  received  him  ?iot."  That  you  are  a  partaker  of 
Christ's  temporal  kingdom  may  be  true,  but  remem- 
ber his  own  declaration,  "  The  Son  of  man  shall  send 
forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his 
kingdom  all  things  that  offend,"  and  them  which  do 
iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire." 
An  awful  thing,  in  truth,  for  the  "  children  of  the 
kingdom'^  to  be  cast  into  hell !  That  you  are  a 
branch  of  the  Christian  Church  may  be  true,  but 


166  BAPTISMAL 

like  many  among  the  Jews,  you  may  be  broken  ofT, 
and  on  the  same  account,  for  not  fulfilling  the  grand 
condition  of  the  covenant.  *'  Because  of  unbelief 
they  were  broken  off."  (Rom.  xi.  20.)  The  apos- 
tle warns  you  of  your  danger,  and  guards  you 
against  this  great  sin,  declaring,  "  thou  standest  by 
FAITH,"  and  if  God  spared  not  the  Jews,  "  the  na- 
tural branches"  of  his  Church,  "  take  heed  lest  he 
also  spare  not  thee.'^ 

It  was  by  the  sin  of  unbelief,  that  this  highly  fa- 
voured people  so  flagrantly  violated  their  covenant 
engagement,  and  excluded  themselves,  both  from 
the  temporal  rest  of  Canaan,  and  from  the  eternal 
rest  of  heaven  ;  and  you,  bound  by  the  same  cove- 
nant vows,  are  exhorted  to  "  labour'*  to  enter  into 
that  heavenly  rest.  And  what  is  the  argument  em- 
ployed ?  ''  Lest  a?iy  ma?ifaU  after  the  same  example 
of  unbelief  ^^  (Heb.  iv.  11.)  Well  may  this  exhor- 
tation go  direct  to  the  hearts  of  the  baptized,  for 
Avoful  and  tremendous  must  be  the  fall,  from  such 
a  high  estate  as  theirs  I 

Do  you  attempt  to  solace  yourself  under  these  re- 
flections, by  a  vain  endeavour  to  impair  the  force 
of  your  baptismal  obligations,  and  thus  release  your- 
self from  them  ? 

What  is  this  but,— 

"Taking  a  world  of  pains  to  be  undone." 

What  is  it,  but  bending  your  reason,  and  coining 
expedients, 

u To  buy 

A  wretched  right  to  endless  misery  ?" 


OBLIGATIONS.  167 

And  what  if  you  should  succeed  in  evading  the 
requisitions  of  your  Baptism  ?  What  do  you  gain  ? 
In  rejecting  a  part  you  reject  the  whole  of  the 
compact.  Cast  oiFthe  vows,  and  by  the  same  act, 
you  throw  up  your  interest  in  the  golden  promise ! 
Abjure  the  conditions  of  the  engagement,  and  by 
the  same  act  you  renounce  all  its  distinctions  and 
its  privileges  ! 

What  then  do  you  gain?  Nothing  but  God  for 
your  enemy  ;  an  inheritance  of  eternal  misery  for 
your  portion,  and  the  place  of  torment  for  your 
home  ! 

Thus  by  your  own  act,  do  you  pronounce  your 
doom!  In  the  morning  of  life,  long  ere  its  sun  has 
set,  you  stamp  the  seal  upon  your  eternal  destiny  ! 
A  voice  from  thine  offended  God  comes  to  thee  say- 
ing, "  Out  of  thine  own  mouth  will  I  condemn 
thee."  Thou  hast  abjured  thy  baptism !  Thou 
dost  hereby  consent  that  I  shall  never  become  thy 
God,  nor  ever  bestow  upon  thee  a  portion  in  hea- 
ven! ''1  will  even  deal  with  thee  as  thou  hast 
done,  which  hast  despised  the  oath  in  breaking  the 
covenant.''  And  then  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost  all  unite  in  casting  thee  off  forever '  Pause 
then,  I  entreat  you, — pause  ere  you  abjure  your 
baptism  ! 

But  whilst  these  solemn  considerations  should  con- 
strain you  "  to  believe  and  do  as  they  promised  for 
thee,"  the  brilliant  reward  is  held  up  to  allure  you  ! 
It  calls  you  sweetly  to  the  sacred  altar  once  again, 
14* 


168  BAPTISMAL 

to  ratify  your  baptismal  vows !  It  is  an  inheri- 
tance, which  embraces  all  that  is  needful  for  the 
body  and  the  soul;  for  death  and  judgment ;  for  time 
and  for  eternity  !  The  blessed  assurance  is  given 
in  your  baptism,  that  the  gates  of  heaven  shall  be 
thrown  open  before  you,  the  moment  you  seek  for 
admittance  there !  No  enemies  shall  successfully 
oppose  your  progress  to  the  land  of  promise  above, 
if  you  will  only  go  forward  with  a  true  and  believ- 
ing heart !  Set  out,  then,  in  good  earnest !  Mo- 
tives are  not  wanting  !  Here  is  the  vow  of  the  co- 
venant to  compel  you  ;  "  the  curse  of  the  covenant 
to  alarm  you  ;  the  grace  of  the  covenant  to  aid 
you  ;  and  the  promise  of  the  covenant  to  entice 
vou ! 

"  Begirt  with  truth,  in  pilgrim  guise, 
O  follow  where  thy  pathway  lies, 

Through  foes  or  desert,  field  or  flood  ; 
Immortal,  'till  thy  work  is  done. 
Unwearied,  'till  the  prize  is  won, 

The  Canaan  that  was  bought  with  blood !" 

Does  the  world  with  its  pomps,  and  vanities,  and 
sinful  allurements,  plead  with  your  heart,  attempt- 
ing to  divert  its  aim  ?  0,  your  baptismal  vows  for- 
bid all  parleying  with  the  world  !  I(s  sinful  plea- 
sures bloom  not  for  you  !  Its  idle  mirth,  its  passing 
vanities,  its  painted  baubles  should  have  no  fascina- 
tion ;  its  glare  and  glitter  no  charms  for  you  !  Its 
distinctions  should  not  dazzle  vour  eyes,   nor  en- 


OBLIGATIONS.  169 

kindle  the  fire  of  your  ambition  !  The  brow  which 
bears  the  sign  of  the  hallowed  cross  needs  not  a 
wreath  of  earthly  honours  to  adorn  it ! 

"  Not  amongst  the  pomps  and  gaudes  of  earth, 
Is  thy  vocation  !     Thy  high  vow  denies 
To  hoard  its  gold,  or  truckle  for  its  smile  !" 

O  beware  of  its  encroachments!  Allow  its  en- 
trance into  your  affections  upon  no  conditions  !  Tell 
the  world  that  you  belong  to  God, — that  the  vows 
of  heaven  are  upon  you !  Tell  the  world  that  no 
w-ealth  which  it  can  offer  can  equal  in  value  the 
rich  inheritance,  to  which,  by  baptism,  you  are  en- 
titled !  Tell  it  that  no  distinction  to  which  it  can 
elevate  you,  can  dim  the  lustre  of  that  which  your 
baptism  confers ;  that  no  service  to  which  it  can  in- 
vite you,  can  equal  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  none  so  free,  none  so  honourable,  none  so 
ennobling,  none  so  glorious  in  its  reward  !  And  O, 
when  the  evil  heart  within  you  prompts  to  covetous 
desires  for  earthly  good,  remember  your  baptismal 
vows  !  When  your  bosom  burns  with  unholy  pas- 
sion, or  your  cheek  is  flushed  with  unrighteous 
anger,  remember  your  baptismal  vows!  If  your 
heart  entertain  one  motive;  if  it  harbour  one  incli- 
nation ;  if  it  be  the  dwelling-place  of  one  desire,  at 
variance  with  the  precepts  of  God's  holy  word,  re- 
member your  baptismal  vows!  They  bind  you  to 
renounce  them  all:  without  any  exception,  reserva- 
tion, or  restriction,  to  expel  them  from  your  bosom, 


170  BAPTISMAL 

and  lend  no  ear  to  their  suggestions !  Whenever 
the  world,  the  flesh,  or  Satan,  shall  prompt  or  al- 
lure you  to  sin,  revert  to  your  baptism,  and  remem- 
ber you  are  sworn  to  renounce  them  all ! 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  Church,  a  custom  pre- 
vailed, which,  whilst  it  served  deeply  to  engrave 
these  obligations  upon  the  memory,  must  have  im- 
parted great  solemnity  to  the  deed.  We  are  told 
that  when  a  new  convert  was  about  to  be  bap- 
tized, he  was  led  to  the  font  and  with  his  face 
turned  to  the  west,  where  Satan  dwells  in  darkness, 
he  stretched  forth  both  his  hands,  and  solemnly 
vowed,  saying,  "  Satan  !  I  renounce  thee,  and  all  thy 
works,  and  all  thy  pomps,  and  all  thy  worship ! !" 
And  then  turning  to  the  East,  whence  light  pro- 
ceeds, he  repeated  the  creed.* 

It  was  also  customary  for  those  who  were  to  be 
baptized,  to  be  clothed  in  a  white  garment,  which 
was  carefully  preserved  in  the  Church,  to  be  pro- 
duced as  a  testimony  against  them,  should  they 
prove  unfaithful  to  their  baptismal  obligations-! 

Did  this  custom  still  prevail,  how  many  of  the 
baptized  would  be  put  to  shame  by  the  melancholy 
contrast,  exhibited  between  the  vestal  purity  of 
their  baptismal  garments,  and  the  shameful  impuri- 
ty of  their  lives  and  conversation  !     How  often,  my 

*  Endin.  Eucyc.  s.  v.  Baptism. 

•j-  Those  who'have  read  the  Pastor's  Testimony  will  remember 
the  affecting  story  of  Elpidiphorusand  Muritta.  See  also,  for  the 
Barae,  Bingham's  Eccles.  Antiq. 


OBLIGATIONS.  ITl 

dear  young  friend,  might  this  testimony  have  been 
produced  against  you  !  O  compare  your  life  as  it 
is,  with  your  life  as  it  ought  to  be  !  And,  if  an  of- 
fence against  the  great  Jehovah,  do  derive  aught,  of 
its  guilt  or  of  its  turpitude,  from  the  condition  and 
circumstances  of  the  offender,  how  black  with  guilt 
and  turpitude  must  be  the  actions  of  your  life  !  A 
child  of  the  family  of  Christ,  and  yet  bearing  so 
strong  a  resemblance  to  the  family  of  Satan!  Pos- 
sessing so  much  interest  with  God,  and  yet  satisfied 
to  be  a  poor  outcast  from  His  presence  !  Entitled, 
by  covenant-oath,  to  His  love,  and  refusing  to  accede 
to  the  conditions  !  Enlisted  under  the  banner  of  the 
crucified  Redeemer,  and  yet  fighting  against  him ! 
With  the  sign  of  the  holy  cross  upon  your  forehead, 
and  yet  living  as  if  the  symbol  of  Satan's  enmity 
to  Christ,  were  placed  there,  instead  !  Baptized 
into  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  and  yet  acting,  as  though 
you  had  been  baptized  into  the  creed  of  a  rank  irre- 
ligion  !  A  Christian  in  name  and  by  profession,  but 
a  heathen  in  heart  and  life!  Distinguished  from 
the  unbaptized  by  high  honours,  and  singular  privi- 
leges, and  yet  resembling  them  in  alineation  from 
God  !  Sworn  to  renounce  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil,  and  yet  taking  them  to  your  bosom,  and 
submitting  to  their  demands ! 

Humbling  reflection  ! — that  the  comparison  so 
completely  fails  !  Sad  inference  for  the  goodness  of 
your  heart,  that  what  you  are,  bears  so  faint  a  simili- 
tude to  what  you  ought  to  be  !     How  much  more 


172  BAPTISMAL 

humbling  the  refletion  ! — and,  how  much  more  sad 
the  inference  against  you,  when  it  is  remembered 
how  vastly  important  and  weighty  are  the  conside- 
rations, which  exhibit  the  danger  and  sin  of  being 
what  you  are,  and  the  happiness  and  glory,  of  being 
what  you  ought  to  be! 

O,  remember,  it  is  not  enough  that  honours,  pri- 
vileges, and  promises  are  here  bestowed  upon  you  ! 
There  must  be  a  holy  life  and  conversation ;  there 
must  be  holy  tempers  and  inclinations  ;  holy  desires 
and  motives,  according  with  those  honours,  privileges 
and  promises.  Your  place  must  be  at  the  Saviour's 
side  and  among  the  Saviour's  friends,  else  your  bap- 
tism avails  you  nothing.  In  this  world,  it  distinguishes 
you  from  the  unbaptized,  by  nothing  but  the 
name  of  Christian  ;  in  that  which  is  to  come,  by 
nothing  but  more  aggravated  woes.  Baptism,  of 
itself,  will  never  save  the  unbelieving  sinner,  nor  will 
the  sprinkling  of  water  ever  cleanse  his  conscience 
from  its  pollutions.  As  there  was  an  outward,  so  also 
was  there  an  inward  circumcision  ;^  as  there  was  an 
outward  so  also  is  there  an  inward  baptism  :f — the 
outward  sign,  in  either  case,  representing,  emble 
matically,  the  removal  of  sin  from  the  heart. 

Why  should  it,  here,  be  insisted  upon,  that  this  in- 
ward baptism  can  only   be  etTected  by   the   Holy 

*  Rom.  ii.  28,  29. 

I  That  was  an  appropriate  and  beautiful  inscription  upon  a 
font,  NITON  ANOMHMA,  MH  MONAN  OTIN.  Wash  my  sin 
not  my  face  only  I 


OBLIGATIONS.  M 

Spirit?  Baptized  into  the  name  of  this  Divine 
person,  you  may  urge  a  successful  plea,  in  suing  for 
his  renovating  grace.  But  not  for  one  moment,  let 
an  answer  be  anticipated  unless  you  prove  the  sinceri- 
ty of  your  plea,  and  the  strength  of  your  desire,  by 
commensurate  efforts,  to  have  all  sin  removed  from 
your  heart. 

Thus,  my  dear  young  friend,  have  I  endeavoured 
to  fix  deeply  upon  your  mind,  a  realizing  sense  of 
your  Baptismal  responsibilities.  God  grant  a  bless- 
ing upon  the  endeavour  ! — for  earnestly  do  I,  in  com- 
mon with  your  beloved  parents  and  friends ;  with 
all  the  faithful  people  of  God  ;  with  all  the  ministers 
of  His  Church,  and  with  all  "the  family  in  heaven," 
desire  to  see  you,  "  in  the  presence  of  God,"  re- 
newing "  the  solemn  promise  and  vow,  that  was 
nnade  in  your  name,  at  your  Baptism  ;  ratifying  and 
confirming  the  same  ;  and  acknowledging  yourself 
bound  to  believe  and  do  all  those  things,  which  your 
sponsors  then  undertook  for  you." 

There  is  a  peculiar  fitness  in  the  time,  when  the 
fulfilment  of  this  duty  is  required  at  your  hands. 

The  Church  of  Christ,  your  anxious  foster-mother, 
aiming  to  forestall  the  great  enemy,  in  his  malicious 
designs  against  your  soul,  requires  the  ratification  of 
the  Baptismal  vow,  upon  your  earliest  arrival  at  the 
age  of  discretion  ;  before  Satan  can  have  time  to 
rivet  his  chains  upon  you,  and  before  the  world  can 
offer  its  illusive  promises,  intoxicate  you  with  its 
pleasures,  harass  you  with  its  cares,  or  fill  your  mind 


174  BAPTISMAL 

with  absorbing  desires  for  its  transient  good.  An 
immediate  ratification,  then  of  your  covenant-vow, 
is  urged  and  enforced  by  serious  and  most  cogent 
arguments. 

Nor  is  the  necessity  of  an  entire  dependance  upon 
the  assisting  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  less  apparent. 

How  beautifully  does  the  Church,  with  characte- 
ristic solicitude  and  fostering  care,  teach  her  young 
disciple  this  duty  ;  urging  him  not  to  lean  upon  his 
own  strength,  but  with  becoming  humility,  to  reiy 
upon  that,  which  cometh  from  above !  Having  in- 
structed him  in  the  three  things  promised  in  his 
name,  and  in  his  obligation  to  do  them  she  now 
teaches  him  to  form  a  happy  and  wise  resolve,  relying 
upon  Almighty  aid: — "Yes,  verily,  and  hy  God's 
help,  so  I  will."  And,  again,  after  having  enume- 
rated, more  particularly,  what  he  is  to  renounce,  be- 
lieve, and  do,  she  thus  addresses  him  in  the  language 
of  tenderness  and  affection, — "  My  good  child,  know 
this,  that  thou  art  not  able  to  do  these  things  of  thy- 
self, nor  to  walk  in  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
to  serve  him,  ivithout  his  special  grace. ''^ 

Far  be  it  from  me,  then,  to  deceive  you,  by  any 
false  representations  of  the  difficulties  to  be  encoun- 
tered. The  vain  world  around,  and  the  evil  heart 
within  you,  will  oppose  many  hindrances,  and 
throw  many  impediments  in  your  way.  Every  ef- 
fort to  overcome  them,  without  the  aid  of  an  Al- 
mighty arm,  must  prove  utterly  abortive;  every  re- 
solve, fall  far  short  of  its  end.     "  You  will  contrive, 


OBLIGATIONS.  174 

perhaps,'^ — says  Archbp.  Seeker, — "  great  schemes 
of  amendment  and  goodness;  but  you  will  execute 
very  little  of  them :  or,  you  will  do  a  good  deal,  it 
may  be  in  some  particulars;  and  leave  others, 
equally  necessary,  undone  :  or  you  will  go  ona  while, 
and  then  fall,  when  you  thought  you  were  surest 
of  standing :  or  what  seeming  progress  soever  you 
make,  you  will  ruin  it  all  by  thinking  too  highly  of 
yourselves  for  it :  or  some  way  or  another,  you  will 
certainly  fail,  unless  the  grace  of  God  enable  you, 
first  to  be  deeply  sensible  of  your  own  guilt  and 
weakness ;  then  to  lay  hold,  by  faith  in  Christ,  on 
his  promised  mercy  and  help  :  in  the  strength  of 
that  help,  to  obey  his  commands ;  and  after  all,  to 
know,  that  you  are  still  unprofitable  servants." 

0,  then,  let  your  unwavering  reliance  be  placed 
upon  that  all-powerful  arm,  which  will  never  deny, 
its  assistance, — which  will  never  withdraw  its  sup- 
port, when  its  assistance  and  support  are  valued. 
Enter  upon  this  blessed  work,  and  approach  the 
sacred  altar,  with  this  noble  motto  engraved  upon 
the  palm  of  your  hand,  impressed  upon  your  heart, 
and  written  upon  your  frontlet, — ''  Strong  in  the 
Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might." 

Aided,  then,  by  the  grace  of  your  covenant-God, 
and  enabled  "of  yourself,  with  your  own  mouth 
and  consent,  openly  before  the  Church,  to  ratify  and 
confirm"  the  promise  of  your  baptism,  how  ready 
will  your  heavenly  Father  be,  for  the  sake  of 
Christ  His  Son,  and  for  the   sake  of  His  covenant 


176  BAPTISMAL  OBLIGATIONS. 

oath,  to  become  your  God,  and  to  confer  upon  you 
all  that  is  imphed  in  that  comprehensive  blessing  I 
Enviable,  then,  does  your  lot  become!— and   envi- 
able the  lot  of  your  parents,  and  of  your  sponsors ! 
Vows  and  promises  are  all  fulfilled ;   engagements 
are  met ;  professions  are  true.     Thus,  through  the 
Baptismal  Sacrament,  is  your  present  and  eternal 
welfare  promoted ;   thus  is  the  Church  of  the  living 
God  honoured  ;  thus  is  the  undivided  Trinity  revcF- 
enced  ;  thus  are  the  faithfulness,  wisdom,  and  love 
of  the  great  Jehovah  glorified,  and  thus  does   He 
become  "Me  God  of  all  the  families  of  Israel.''^ 
May  God   Almighty   enable   you,  by  word   and 
deed,  to  ratify  and  confirm  your  covenant-vow,  and 
for  the  sake  of  that  beloved  Son  in  whom  he  is  well 
pleased,  may   he   "defend  you   w^ith  his  heavenly 
grace,  that  you  may  continue  his  forever,  and  daily 
increase  in   his  Holy  Spirit  more  and  more,  until 
you  come  unto  his  everlasting  kingdom  !" 


FINIS. 


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